



PRESENTED BY 
























































































































THE 


RICHMONDS’ TOUR IN EUROPE. 

Br ALFKED ELWES, 

V k 

ATJTHOB OP “ ADVENTUBES OF A DOG,” ETC., ETC. 


®tit| ©wntg-tigtt Illustrations bjr farinas <|rtists. 



LONDON: 

EOUTLEDGrE, WAENE, AND ROUTLEDGE, 

EARRING-DON STREET; 


AND 56, WALKER STREET, NEW YORK. 




















































































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LONDON: 


HARRILJ), 


■"9p" , SHOE LAKE 


FLEET STREET. 


INTRODUCTION. 


Contents. 


OUR TOUR IN HOLLAND. 

ZIELAND. 

THE ZUTDEEZEE. 

THE HAGUE. 

SCHEVENINGEN. 

LEYDEN. 

LAKE OF HAARLEM. 

SARDAM. 

AMSTERDAM. 


WEST FRIESLAND. 

GRONINGEN. 

OVERYSSEL. 

NIMEGUEN. 

ARNHEIM. 

UTRECHT. 

ROTTERDAM. 

SCHIEDAM. 


OUR TOUR IN NORWAY. 

THE MAELSTROM. 

CHRISTIANA. 

THE LAKE OF MYOSEN. 

THE DOORE FJELD MOUNTAINS. 


DRONTHEIM. 

BERGEN. 

H1THERDEL CHURCH. 
THE LOFOTEN ISLANDS. 


OUR TOUR IN SWEDEN. 

FALUN. 

MINES OF DANNEMORA. 
STOCKHOLM. 

UPSALA. 

TORNEA. 


LAKE VENERN. 
CARLSTADT. 

FALLS OF TROLLHCETTAN. 
GOTTENBURG. 

THE CATTEGAT. 


OUR TOUR IN DENMARK. 

KIEL. 

COPENHAGEN. 


FREDERICKSBURG. 

ALTONA. 


THE ISLAND OE ICELAND. 

THE GEYSERS. 


MOUNT HECLA 








CONTENTS 


CUE TOIJE IN BELGIUM 


BRUSSELS. 

WATERLOO 

LOUVAIN. 

MECHLIN. 


ANTWERP 

BRUGES. 

GHENT. 

TOURNAY. 


THE MEUSE. 
LIEGE. 
YPRES. 
OSTEND. 


OUE TOUE IN PEUSSIA. 


THE RHINE. 

BERLIN. 

POTSDAM. 

FRANKFORT. 

STETTIN. 

KCENIGSBERG. 

DANTZIC. 


SAXONY. 

MAGDEBURG. 

ERFURTH. 

WESTPHALIA. 

COLOGNE. 

BONN. 

DUSSELDORF. 


ELBERFELD. 

COBLENTZ. 

EHRENBREITSTEIN 

KREUZNACH - ON - 
THE-NAHE. 

TREVES. 

AIX-LA-CHAPELLE, 


OUE TOUE IN AUSTEIA 


VIENNA. 

NEUSTADT 

GRUTZ. 

LINZ. 


INNSPRUCK 

ILLYRIA. 

BOHEMIA. 

MORAVIA. 


GALICIA. 

HUNGARY. 

PESTH. 

PRESBURG. 


THE GEEMANIC CONEEDEEATION. 


FRANKFORT. 

CARLSRUHE. 

CLAUSTHALL 

MUNICH. 

BADEN. 

BREMEN. 

RATISBON. 

MANHEIM. 

HAMBURG. 

BAMJ3ERG. 

HEIDELBURG. 

LUBECK. 

ANSPACH. 

MAYENCE. 

SCHWERIN. 

WURTZBURG. 

WORMS. 

DRESDEN. 

AUGSBURG. 

BRUNSWICK. 

LEIPSIC. 

STUTTGART. 

HANOVER. 

WEIMAR. 

ULM. 

GOTTINGEN. 

COBURG. 









THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


A GENTLEMAN of moderate fortune, by the name of Richmond, 
was unfortunately left a widower with two sons, just as they had 
attained an age when the more important part of education should 
begin. They had been at an excellent school for some years, and were 
tolerably grounded in most of those branches of instruction in which 
it is necessary for a gentleman and a man of business to be versed. But 
they were sadly deficient in a knowledge of modern languages, that 
study which, by extending our means of acquirement, enlarges the 
mind, and which is more than ever necessary nowadays, when the 
facilities of travel are rousing people from the most distant parts of 
the Continent, and bringing into connexion those who could scarcely 
have hoped to make the acquaintance of each other. 

Fully aware, therefore, that travelling not only familiarises the 
ear to foreign sounds and renders them much more easy of attain¬ 
ment, but that it tends, more than anything else, to remove those 
prejudices which are apt to grow round e( home-keeping youths,” Mr. 
Richmond resolved that his sons should travel; and feeling assured 
that no tutor could be so proper a companion, could be so kind, so 
indulgent, yet so watchful, as himself, he resolved to devote some two 
years to a tour through Europe, visiting every place that could 
interest and instruct his children, and making a lengthened sojourn in 
those cities whence advantage could be derived. 

Among his other plans, Mr. Richmond proposed to his elder son, 
Herbert, that he should write an account of all the principal points 
of interest in each country through which they journeyed, and to his 
younger son, Arthur, that he should make drawings or sketches of 
such objects as would be welcome to their friends on their return. 

The journal, thus written and illustrated, having been considered 
worthy to be more widely known, is now presented to our young 

A A a A 



THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


readers in its present form, and its author trusts it will be as pleas¬ 
ing to strangers as it was agreeable to those for whom it was more 
immediately composed. 


OUR TOUR IN HOLLAND. 

Nothing can he more singular than the aspect of Holland as we 
approached it from the sea. Instead of the purple hills and fantastic 
headlands which make some countries so easily recognised from a 
distance, or the bold cliffs and white shores of our own country,—a 
low sandy line, slightly undulating, with the top of a churcli-tower 
or windmill staring across the ocean, are all that met our eye; and 
a sensation of discomfort at first stole across us as %ve looked 
towards a shore which offered so few attractions. As we drew nearer, 
however, and observed tower after tower spring, as it were, from out 
the wave; as our gaze rested upon the white cottage with its enclosed 
garden, a picture of cleanliness and neatness; as we remarked the 
traces of man’s industry, perseverance, and energy, visible in every¬ 
thing, and the more visible as we approached the land;—we corrected 
our first erroneous impression, and before we had made acquaintance 
with the inhabitants, had learned to admire and respect them. 

If the first sight of Holland is as we have described it, the 
general aspect of the interior of the country is more highly inter- 
estins*. Meadow after meadow succeeding each other in the richest 
luxuriance, dotted with sleek cattle, whose sides are shining in the 
sunbeams; groups of tall trees waving majestically about some an¬ 
cient building, the quaint architecture of which is so peculiar to the 
country, and harmonises so well with the surrounding landscape; 
broad canals, reflecting in their course the oddest bridges, the 
neatest gardens, the queerest little summerhouses that ever charmed 
the eye,—sometimes in unmoved placidity looking upward at the 
large masses of cloud defined in wild magnificence on the grey sky; 
at other times, by the passage*of a boat or barge, broken into a 
thousand ripples, and dancing in mimic waves on to the green turf 
which hems in their waters; fine roads, paved with clinkers, and 
bordered with trees, enlivened from time to time with the passage 


HOLLAND, 


ot a country cart, or a country carriage, so singular in shape, yet 
appearing so natural in connexion with the adjacent objects, that, 
although one may have been but half-a-dozen days in the country, 
they have already lost every feature of strangeness, and are looked 
upon as old friends: all these, and many more, are the features of 
this land, and make it dear, not only to those who have been born 
and brought up in it, but attractive even to the stranger who but 
casts a hasty glance over it, ere he leaves it for more distant 
countries. 

But even this summer garb, pleasant as it is to look on, is 
not the suit in which Holland is gayest. It is when, at the fall of 
the year, the sharp easterly winds have (e spread a film ” over every 
lake and stream, and made them solid as dry ground: it is when a 

J O 



white mantle is cast broad over the country, and the sun sparkles 
in beauty upon fields, house-tops, and all the minute net-work of the 





































































































THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 

majestic elms; it is when the whole nation seems roused from its 
calm habits, and, with skates on feet, glides swiftly over the glassy 
surface of the congealed waters,—that Holland looks her bravest. 
And he who has only beheld her in her livery of green, can scarcely 
believe the wondrous change wrought in her habits and deportment 
when arrayed in her vestment of snow. 

The details of the picture are not less interesting than the general 
view; and surely no land can be more curious than that which has 
been alternately covered by the ocean, and rescued from it—ever 
attacked by wave and wind, and as stoutly defended by its inhabit¬ 
ants, till they have acquired in the struggle an energy, a passive 
courage, and a persevering industry, which have raised them to a 
high position in Europe, and have earned for them the respect of the 
whole world. 

The hills and undulating scenery which the traveller meets with 
an different parts of Belgium soften down as he goes farther north, 
and by the time he has reached Zieland, the most southerly province 
of Holland, nothing but an extensive plain is visible, cut up into 
numberless canals, broken by the passage of rapid rivers, and con¬ 
stantly threatened with destruction by the restless beating of the sea, 
which appears as though it would overleap the barriers raised to keep 
it out, and engulpli the villages and rich pasture-lands that, in many 
cases, lie beneath its level. 

The struggles of the Dutch to resist the encroachments of this 
powerful enemy would have been utterly fruitless but for the assist¬ 
ance given them by nature in the formation of their territory. This 
is by a succession or rampart of hills of sand called Downs, which 
encircle the country, and by their breadth, varying from half-a-mile 
to two leagues, would effectually protect the inhabitants against the 
violence of the waves, but for the openings caused by the mouth of 
rivers, which, running through the country, empty themselves into 
the German Ocean. A glance at the map will show you the islands 
of Texel, Vlieland, Schelling, and Ameland, set in a segment of a 
circle round the north of Holland. The Downs alone have preserved 
these spots of land, the intervening territory having been successively 
engulphed by the sea, till a junction has been effected between the 
Zuyderzee and the enemy without. The guarding against the farther 


HOLLAND. 


advances of the waves has produced one of the most wonderful 
labours of patience and skill in the country; for the inhabitants, to 
replace the natural boundary thus destroyed, and save their land 
from utter ruin, have raised up an artificial barrier of dykes, which 
surround a large portion of this enormous lake. 

The watchfulness and industry which are the characteristics of 
the Dutchman, and which have been fostered and tutored by the 
circumstances in which he is placed, are very evident in the province 
of Utrecht, for as the land approaches the confines of the province 
of Holland, it runs actually lower than the level of the sea, and 
demands unceasing vigilance to preserve it from destruction. 

AVe cannot give a better idea of these stupendous works, than 
by mentioning that one of them, near the mouth of the Scheld, 
stretches four thousand seven hundred yards in length, and by being 
greatly sloped, offers invincible resistance to the ocean. This dyke 
and a fine lighthouse, with fifteen reflecting lights, attract great 
attention from foreigners, and they have the gratification, besides, of 
seeing on the beach a novel mode of fishing for eels, which creates 
considerable amusement. The wet sand is ploughed in regular 
furrows, and the eels getting into them, become, after some difficulty, 
the prey of the fishermen as they successfully endeavour to seize 
them with their hands. 

Holland is a country so completely rescued from the ocean, every 
period of its history contains so many struggles with its great ad¬ 
versary, that most of its romantic tales are founded upon the storms, 
floods, and inundations, to which it has been at all times liable. 

Scarcely a portion of the territory but can boast its struggle and 
escape, its marvellous legend, connected with the torrent oi the ocean. 
The most remarkable record preserved by history of such events is 
the great inundation of Dordrecht, which, in 1421, engulphed the 
most fertile land in the province of Holland, and overflowed and 
destroyed seventy-two villages. The lovers of the marvellous assert 
that private revenge occasioned the calamity. Two neighbours 
having quarrelled, a dyke was destroyed by one of them, to inundate 
the other’s land; the breach being made, the waters, swollen by a 
sudden storm, rushed in, and effected a destruction never before or 
since known in the country. 


THE RICHMONDS' TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


The most charming scenery in Holland is to be found among the 
Downs,—scenery, likewise, which is not less beautiful from its entire 



lissimilarity to anything else. I have before observed that the Downs 
are of irregular breads and unequal height, the portion which is turned 




























































HOLLAND. 


towards the sea being almost bare, producing only a matted kind of 
grass, which, spreading over the surface of the sand, binds it strongly 
together, and prevents it being washed away. But how beautiful 
the contrast presented by the inland view! Avenues of tall elms, 
verdant fields smiling in domestic beauty, white homesteads, pictures 
of comfort and abundance, charming roads, shaded with trees, 
showing long vistas broken with chequered light, broad canals looking 
like placid rivers, and cattle everywhere grazing. These elements 
work up into charming pictures, which the native artists limn so 
truly and so well, and which never fail to please the mind that loves 
to gaze on contentment and peace. The extensive and beautiful 
wood of the Hague shows the Downs to advantage, as it is over a 
portion of them that this most picturesque retreat extends. The 
water which flows in abundance from the higher sand-mounds, and 
which would have created at times unhealthy marshes, has been 
enclosed and transformed into mimic lakes, which, winding in every 
direction amidst rich foliage, afford numberless delicious views. But 
it is in winter, above all, that this sweet spot is replete with beauty, 
when each picturesque bit of water is converted into a solid mass, 
smooth, glistening, and mirror-like, covered with gay crowds, 
enjoying the healthful and national recreation of skating; when 
parties of both sexes and of all conditions are skimming over the even 
surface, now alone, now in pans, now in bevies of eighteen and 
twenty; when sledges in every fantastic form, from the simple one 
pushed by hand, a child’s first coach, to the gaudy and luxurious 
carriage, filled with the rich and gay, on vast skates, drawn with 
wonderful velocity by one, two, and even four horses;—this is the 
period when this beautiful wood is seen to advantage, though it may 
then lose all the adjuncts of luxurious foliage and the balmy breath 
of summer. 

At the end of this miniature forest is the country-seat of the 
Stadtholders, called Het Huis in de Bosch , or the House in the Wood; 
one saloon in it is entirely decorated with furniture from Japan, a 
country with which Holland alone, of all the European states, has 
been enabled to maintain a friendly relation. 

The beautiful town of the Hague, the celebrated seat of govern¬ 
ment, once a mere hunting establishment belonging to the Counts of 
Holland, and hence called ’ sGravenhage , is situated at the back of 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 

the wood, and lias a most pleasing and even imposing appearance on 
entering it from these line pleasure-grounds. 1 he peculiar and 
massive character of its architecture, the streets planted with rows of 
trees, the cleanliness, comfort, and substantiality of the private 
houses, particularly attract attention from an Englishman; and he 
is no less pleased with the neatness and convenience of the interior of 
the dwellings, when he has an opportunity of inspecting them. 

Few towns on the Continent of any importance are without a 
museum for the display of paintings and works of art, and the Hague 
is not an exception. A rich collection of the Dutch masters, some 
curiosities from China and Japan, with a cabinet of medals, coins, 
and engraved stones, give materials for admiration and reflection; 
and few who have beheld it will ever forget that wonderful Bull of 
Paul Potter’s, which, placed at the extremity of one of the rooms, 
gazes so earnestly on you at your entrance. 

A walk to the village of Sclieveningen through an avenue 
shaded by majestic trees, is another delightful mode of passing -a 
few hours’ time. The road itself, so nicely kept and so picturesquely 
varied, is rendered attractive by the crowds of foot passengers, gay 
carriages, and horsemen, who throng there on a fine afternoon in 
summer; and when after half-an-hour’s walk, the little village is 
reached with its broad expanse of sea before it dotted with many a 
tiny sail, and a pretty pavilion with a fine establishment for baths 
come into sight, perched, as they are, among the Downs, the picture 
is a very pleasing one. 

Several modes of travelling exist in Holland, and all of them 
have something to recommend them. Diligences run upon the high¬ 
roads, passage-boats towed by horses are upon the canals, and 
railways are beginning to intersect the country. If you are a good 
pedestrian, however, few lands offer more attractive views of sylvan 
homely scenery. You may pass held after field divided from each 
other by ditches instead of fences, hedge-rows, and walls; and as 
these ditches communicate with the canals, and the canals with the 
sea, they almost all abound with fish, so that angling may be 
pursued at every turn with advantage. Many little cottages and 
farm-houses become thus completely isolated, and are supplied with 
drawbridges to communicate with the main road, thus offering the 
pleasantest, and at the same time, most curious prospects, imaginabl e. 


HOLLAND. 


The city of Leyden was to be our first stage on quitting the 
Hague; and as papa was desirous we should see as much of the real 
country modes and customs as possible, he chose rather to travel by 
the canal than the highroad either by diligence or chaise. 

The trehschuyt, or passage-boat for the conveyance of passengers, 
is a long covered barge, divided into a fore and after cabin, drawn by 
one or two horses, who trot along the bank of the canal at the rate of 
about five miles an hour'; and this mode of travelling would be very 
pleasant, were it not for the clouds of tobacco-smoke issuing from 
the mouth of every male passenger on board, captain and man 
included. "W e were not sorry, therefore, when, after some three 
hours’ gentle motion, we found ourselves in the good city of Leyden. 
This is one of the most ancient and celebrated places in Holland, 
with a noble university, well known over Europe as the nursery of 
many a genius. 

This fine establishment was Granted to the inhabitants for the 

o 

wonderful courage and magnanimity they displayed nearly three cen¬ 
turies ago in sustaining a siege against the Spaniards; and so highly 
was this benefit thought of at the time, that contemporary writers 
affirm it was looked on as a greater boon than a long exemption from 
taxes. The same features of broad streets, with canals bordered 
with tall trees, and houses of quaint architecture, sometimes nodding 
to each other from opposite sides of the way, where the foundation 
has at all yielded, are observable in Leyden, as in other cities of 
Holland, whilst many handsome buildings, substantially constructed 
of stone, with heavy balustrades and grotesque carvings, give an air 
of solidity and quaintness peculiarly characteristic. 

A fine museum, with a noted collection of natural history, and 
curiosities of every kind, together with a botanical garden of great 
extent, are among the attractions of this city. 

All the towns of Holland are so full of interest, either from 
historical events having been enacted within them, or from some 
peculiar position as having required extraordinary perseverance or 
energy in their foundation, that not one can be entered without afford¬ 
ing food for reflection and pleasure, 'die city of Haarlem is in every 
way remarkable; it is a delightful place of sojourn for the philosopher, 
the botanist, the lover of nature, and the admirer of art. It was in this 


1HE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EURORE. 

city Lawrence Coster, the presumed inventor of that mighty machinery 
by which thoughts were to be multiplied and brought to every home¬ 
stead, was born and studied. It was here he formed his simple 
printing-press, and drew from the neighbouring wood the materials for 
his first letters. A statue in the market-place has been erected to his 
memory, and in 1823 a splendid national fete was held at its inaugu¬ 
ration. The Town Hall and the Great Church are both fine; the 
massiveness observable in the architecture of the former, its antiquity ? 
its portraits of eminent men, are all interesting; and no less so is the 
latter with its tower and elevated roof, a conspicuous object even far 
out at sea, and, above all, its splendid organ of 8000 pipes, whose 
powers are so great that they can produce every phase of a terrific 
storm, and imitate the softest intonations of the human voice. Then 
the position of the city—its ramparts, converted into gardens and 
parterres, refreshing the sight and smell with varied colours and rich 
scents, the view obtained from their elevation sweeping over thickets, 
pieces of water, wooded isles, the downs, and numerous villas scattered 
in every direction, render Haarlem a place of no ordinary kind. It 
has at all times been celebrated for its cultivation of flowers, 
particularly bulbs—its hyacinths and tulips have been, and are now, 
sent over the entire world; and when, some two centuries ago, 
the mania for tulips reached such a height that fortunes were made 
and ruined by their sale and purchase, tliis trade was a most important 
one for the city. Haarlem has now a good trade in linen cloth, and 
several cotton manufactories worked by steam have been established 
without the city. The painters Berghem, Ostade, and Wouvermans, 
who are all natives of Haarlem, would alone have lent interest to 
the place had any other been wanting. The wonderful siege it once 
sustained (in 1572-3) against the Spaniards,—when for the space of 
seven months it resisted its enemies; the female, as well as the male 
citizens, joining in the duties of the besieged, forming themselves 
into a battalion, and even at times sallying out and assaulting the 
besiegers,—will ever dwell in the memory of the lovers of patriotism. 

To the south-west of the city lies an extensive sheet of water 
known by the name ot the Lake of Haarlem. Many attempts have 
been made since the sixteenth century to drain this lake and recover 
the land; but up to 1842 the attempt was fruitless. In that year 


HOLLAND. 


two English engineers, Messrs. Dean and Gibbs, had three engines 
of 350 horse power each, erected under their superintendence for 
the purpose. To give an idea of the effect produced by this 
powerful machinery, we need only mention that 60,000,000 tons of 
water have been discharged by them in one month. Storms, however, 
and other accidents have somewhat retarded their operations; but 
they will, no doubt, ultimately succeed. 

On the way to the capital, the town of Zaandam,—by foreigners 
called Sardam—claimed our attention. It was visited by Peter the 
Great of Russia when he travelled forth into Europe to obtain 
materials for civilising his people. It was here he studied the art 
of ship-building, and even lent his own hands to the work; for 
Zaandam contained for a long time a most important dockyard, and 
slips for the construction of the largest vessels. Although this 
branch of industry has declined, many others have sprung up in 
its place, and the same perseverance, energy, and simplicity of 
manners, are displayed as distinguished its earlier inhabitants. 

A steam-boat conveyed us to Amsterdam, the famous capital of 
the country; a name, which by its inhabitants has been made 
renowned throughout the world; whose early navigators baptized the 
most distant points and headlands, established New York, and laid 
the foundation of many a colony, serving to extend its commerce 
and renown. So many objects worthy of admiration are spread 
through this city, that it would require a volume to describe them 
all in the manner they deserve. A better idea of the importance of 
many of them cannot be given than by mentioning that the royal 
palace, formerly the Town House, though 282 feet long, 235 broad, 
and 116 high, with a round tower rising to an elevation of 157 feet, 
is constructed on 13,689 wooden piles! Imagine the labour of this 
gigantic work before commencing the building, and yet the structure 
was terminated in seven years. All the houses in the city, it may 
be remarked, have the same artificial foundation to ensuic then 
duration. A profusion of marbles adorns this splendid building ; 
and the interior is embellished with pictures, statues, and decorations 
of every kind to make it worthy the city in which it is elected. 

Amsterdam boasts a fine canal called the “ Grand,” which, 
opening opposite the city, runs in a broad and noble stream northward 


THE HICiniCEDS TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


to Holder, at the extreme point of the land opposite the island of 
Texcl, and offers a secure and safe passage to the capital for the 
largest vessels, instead of their having to pursue the voyage by the 
Zuyder Zee, always troublesome, and often most dangerous from its 
storms and numerous sand-banks. 

But the celebrity of Amsterdam is not greater in these colossal 
works, and the breadth and importance of its commerce, than in its 



literature and encouragement to the arts. The names of Spieghel, 
Hooft, and Vandel, are well known, though they cannot be repeated 
too often. The poets Helmers and Loots, and the able and versatile 
Bilderdyk, drew their origin from this city; and were the language 
in which they wrote as well known and as much studied as the 




























































































































HOLLAND 


German, Italian, and other European tongues, a literature would be 
brought to light second to none in variety and strength, and 
immeasurably superior to many which are highly praised merely 
because they are more familiar. Skirting the Zuyder Zee, which has 
been more than once mentioned, in a northerly direction, we 
reached the town of Hoorn, at one time the capital of West Friesland. 
Very different is its aspect now to what it could once boast, when, as 
the centre of the shipping interest and general commerce of the 
country, and the principal depot of the Dutch East India Company, 
it sent out its hardy inhabitants to the discovery of other worlds. It 
was a citizen of Hoorn, Jan Koen by name and a merchant by 
profession, who, engaged in the service of the East India Company, 
fought by sea and land against the people of Java, and their allies 
the English; conquered the kingdom of Jacatra, and built on the 
ruins of its capital the city of Batavia, called the Queen of the Indian 
Archipelago. 

It was a navigator from this little town, Willem Schouten, who 
discovered the passage of the Pacific Ocean, and rounding the land 
of Terra del Fuego, gave to its extremity the title of Cape Horn, 
which it still bears. 

There are other towns standing on the banks of this extensive 
inland sea which are dear to every Dutchman, and have a melan¬ 
choly interest for the student of history: — truly a melancholy 
interest, for the eminence and wealth which once characterised their 
inhabitants are departed; grass grows in the streets before their 
habitations, and the tide of commerce which ever roused such 
vigour and poured such opulence into the havens of these towns, 
has swept by them to other spots and other peoples. We need only 
mention Enkhuizen, Medenblik, and Stavoren, on the opposite shore, 
as proofs of the uncertainty of worldly grandeur and prosperity. 

At the extreme point of North Holland, where the land stretches 
out towards Texel, and the other islands which have been, by storms 
probably, severed from it for ever, stands Helder, containing the 
New Deeps, and entrance to that fine canal which we have men¬ 
tioned in connexion with Amsterdam. Its dockyards, and other 
works, are also upon an extensive scale. 

Crossing the Zuyder Zee at this point, we reached the province 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE* 


of West Friesland, where extensive drainage has been going on 
since the sixteenth century; the numerous lakes, which have played 
so conspicuous a part in the Frieslanders’ early history, having been 
their barrier against the attacks of the Counts of Holland, have one 
by one disappeared, and now present the aspect of rich meadows, 
filled with cattle, and bordered with avenues of trees with thick 
lofty foliage. No less than eighty thousand acres of land have been 
reclaimed since the seventeenth century, and dykes, have been 
thrown up to preserve the meads recovered with so much pains 
and industry. 

Groningen, the capital of the province of that name, which 
forms the north-eastern boundary of the kingdom, is one of the 
finest and most regular-built cities in Holland. A noble town-hall 
and a grand square, the most spacious in the country, excite 
admiration; whilst the university, established there in 1614, has 
produced many personages of eminence. 

To the south of Groningen lies the territory of Drenthe, the 
most thinly-populated of the provinces. Not far distant from Assen, 
the capital, are some remarkable remains of antiquity, named 
Hunebedden , or the beds of the Huns , similar to those at Stonehenge, 
near Salisbury, but on an inferior scale. 

The province of Overyssel is daily growing into importance, and 
though the inhabitants are thinly scattered, manufactories of different 
kinds have sprmig up in the different towns and villages, and more 
and more land is yearly brought into cultivation. Zwolle, its chief 
city, bears a great reputation for cleanliness, and is, moreover, a place 
of considerable trade and attraction. 

Nimeguen, in the province of Guelderland, south - east of 
Overyssel, is a most ancient city, it having been the Oppidmn 
Batavorum of Tacitus. It was, besides, one of the favourite 
residences of Charlemagne, and could, in 692, boast of possessing 
the first Christian church. Situated on the hill of Hunenberg, and 
built in the form of an amphitheatre, it arrests the traveller’s atten¬ 
tion ; and he is no less charmed with the air of venerable antiquity 
which hangs over its buildings, and lingers in its streets. The wall 
which surrounds the city is pierced with ten gates, six of them con¬ 
ducting to the Rhine and four to the interior Nimeguen is now the 


HOLLAND. 


centre of the commercial navigation of Cologne and Mayence, with 
Rotterdam and London by steam-boats. 

The character of the scenery in this province is very different to 
that which we described as observable in the northern parts of 
Holland. Hill and dale succeed each other; fine estates, with 
country seats, in picturesque positions; corn-fields, intermingled 
with pasture lands, are everywhere observable, and in some parts, at 
Oosterbeek, near Arnheim, for instance, there are even some fine 
cascades, one of which is eighty-six feet deep. A branch of that 
lovely river, the Rhine, runs through this district, making beauty as 
it flows. 

Arnheim, a very ancient city, is placed in the midst of this 
undulating scenery, which, together with its antiquity—historical 
mention being made of it as far back as 977 —makes it a favourite 
resting-place with hunters after the picturesque. The Rhine flow’s 
beneath its walls, and as the fortifications rise to a considerable 
height, and have been converted into promenades, it is easy to con¬ 
ceive how fine must be the prospect enjoyed from their elevation. 

The province of Utrecht is the smallest in the kingdom, but is 
one of the most remarkable on account of the variety of its produc¬ 
tions. In the north-west and south-east portions we meet with moors 
producing abundance of turf; luxuriant meadow’s spread their green 
surface to the westward; corn-fields abomid in the southern portions; 
wdiilst in the eastern, tobacco plantations and broad forests meet the 
eye and give richness to the scene. The capital of this division, 
which bears the same name, derives considerable importance, in a 
military point of view, from its situation in the very heart of the 
state. It possesses also a commercial communication with the Rhine, 
and enjoys a most healthy climate. Like many other of the cities of 
the Continent, its fortifications have been turned into open ramparts 
planted with trees, from whence very pleasing views are attained of 
the surrounding country. This city is the general grain market of 
the province; it contains various manufactories and a university, 
and, from its antiquity, possesses an air of quaintness, which, joined 
to its commercial bustle, gives it a charm possessed by very few of 
these venerable resorts of men. It has been an episcopal see since 


TIIE RICHMONDS 5 TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 

tlie eighth century, and in the middle ages was the finest and most 
important city northward of the Meuse, abounding with edifices in 
stone, many of which excite the admiration of travellers at the 
present day. 

We now again entered the province of South Holland, to visit 
one or two other important places ere we left this interesting country. 
And first the flourishing city of Rotterdam arrested our steps, and 
demands a mention. It is the second commercial town in Holland, 
and its prosperity is yearly increasing. Canals, capable of bearing 
the largest vessels, intersect its streets; the banks and the wharfs are 
planted with trees and lined with people; and no sight can be more 
interesting on a bright summer’s morning than the mingling of ships’ 
masts, rich foliage, lofty houses of quaint and massive architecture, 
and throngs of busy folks, chattering, laughing, and moving to 
and fro. 

If the prosperity of Rotterdam is as we have described it, that of 
Delft has declined in the same proportion. Its principal source of 
revenue was formerly derived from its manufacture of crockery ware, 
known by the name of the town which produced it; but the spirit 
and enormous capital which have been embarked of late years in this 
branch of industry by England, have rendered it impossible for any 
other people to compete with her, and the manufactories of Delft, 
once the seat of so much activity, look grim and sad as they are fall¬ 
ing to decay. The old church and the new are both interesting, and 
contain many monuments. The ashes of the great Grotius repose in 
the latter, and the remains of Martin Tromp, the famous Dutch 
admiral, one of the stoutest adversaries of England, lie interred in 
the old buildino;. 

The village of Schiedam has become a place of such notoriety 
from its extensive distilleries, that it deserves a passing notice. The 
spirit, exported to England in large quantities from this place, is 
known under the name of “ Hollandsand its manufacture, the sole 
subsistence of the town, has brought great wealth to many of its 
inhabitants. So vast is the business done, that, at the height of its 
prosperity, it is stated that thirty thousand pigs were fed with the 
wash from its distilleries. 


HOLLAND, 


The climate of Holland varies considerably in different parts of 
the country, with, the difference of position and elevation of the soil. 
In those provinces which we have described as low and marshy, fogs 
are frequent visitors, and damp penetrates to the inmost recesses 
of the dwellings; hence the care of the Dutch housewife to turn 
every room topsy-turvy at intervals of eight or ten days, and rub. 



J 

} 


and polish, and scour the furniture. This humidity occasions, too, 
the inveterate habit of smoking, and among the lower classes of 
chewing tobacco, with the use of ardent spirits. In the southern 

bbbb 












































































THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 

parts of the country, however, where the land is undulating and 
cultivation is more widely spread, a decided improvement is visible 
in climate, approximating to that of our own country. 

Too small a distinction exists between Holland and England with 
reference to zoology to create much interest in a description. 
Flocks of wild geese are seen, wedge-like, to direct their course 
across the kingdom, but they do not tarry. The storks, however, 
are regular visitants, and are looked on with almost superstitious 
reverence. Many a half-barrel is set within the branches of a tall 
tree to entice the stork to make a stay, and happy does that family 
esteem itself which a pair of these birds favour with their presence. 
It is amusing to watch the male standing on one leg on the edge of 
the huge nest keeping guard whilst the female is setting; and should 
any appearance of danger arise, he throws back his head and clatters 
his beak in the most threatening manner, producing a sound similar 
to that made by the urchins in our streets with a couple of pieces of 
wood or slate shaken between them fingers. 

Many stories are related of the attachment of storks to their 
homes, where they have been hatched or long located. 

It is affirmed by one of the coruitry writers, among other traits 
and anecdotes of this bird, that a farm-house, which had been for 
many years the favourite resort of generations of storks, having 
accidentally caught fire, the old birds flew screaming round and 
round the burning mass, and when the flames had reached the nest 
containing their young brood, they dashed wildly into the midst and 
perished with their offspring. 

Holland and Belgimn have been, at all periods, in such close 
connexion with each other, that their history is in many cases 
inextricably interwoven. They were known to the Romans under 
the name of Gallia Belgica, and have occupied, from the earliest ages, 
a prominent station in the annals of Europe. The inhabitants, who 
at an * early period were called Batavians, excited, from their 
courage, the respect of the Romans; and in later years the bravery 
of the nation has been no less signally displayed in resisting the arms 
of Austria and Spain, to the attacks of which latter power we have 
more than once alluded. It was the Prince of Orange who liberated 
Holland from the tyranny of Philip of Spain, and at his death, the 


HOLLAND. 


provinces, formed into a republic, had to sustain years of continued 
war, the Netherlands being a constant field for the display of the 
military tactics of England, France, and Austria, until the whole of 
the provinces were annexed to France by Napoleon, under the regal 
sway of his brother Louis. When Napoleon fell, the house of 
Orange again reassumed its sovereignty over the Netherlands, which 
lasted till the revolution of 1830, when Belgium was finally severed 
from it, and formed into a separate kingdom. 

The government is a constitutional monarchy, and greatly 
resembles that of France in the time of Louis Philippe. The king 
divides his legislative power with the States-General, formed into 
two Chambers; the first being composed of members appointed for 
life by the king from such as are distinguished by them services, 
birth, or fortune; and the second Chamber is made up of deputies 
chosen by the provinces. The States-General meet, at least, once a- 
year for the transaction of business. The constitution assures and 
guarantees the same rights to all citizens. Each province has 
particular States of its own, composed of members elected by the 
three orders of the kingdom, which are the nobility or equestrian 
order, the order of the towns, and the order of the countries. These 
again assemble once a-year, at least, and every time they may be 
convoked by the king. The government of the colonies appertains 
to his majesty alone. 

All forms of worship are freely professed in the kingdom, which 
recognises no dominant religion. The greatest portion of the 
inhabitants, and certainly the most wealthy, profess Calvinism; the 
remainder are Lutherans and Catholics. 

The language of Holland is one of the energetic scions of the 
Teutonic stock, quite as powerful and copious, but less elegant than 
the German. From the harshness of its pronunciation, it is but 
little studied by foreigners, who moreover find French universally 
understood and spoken in society, for the Dutch are excellent 
linguists. Yet it is much to be regretted that this idiom should be 
so little known, for its literature is rich, varied, and powerful. 

Any peculiarity in the manners or customs of Holland is fast 
wearing away, and the well-educated portions of the community, 
like the gentry of the other civilized kingdoms of Europe, follow the 


TIIE RICHMONDS* TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 

same rules of etiquette and observe the same formalities of good 
breeding. 

It is only in the smaller and more obscure towns, whose inhabi¬ 
tants hold but little converse with the great world, that any 
singularity in customs prevails. The villages of Broek and 
Zaandam, which we have already mentioned, retain, for instance, 
the peculiarity of only opening one of the two doors with which the 
houses are provided twice during the life of the occupants; once 
when the young married couple enter, and the second time when 
their corpses are carried out. 

The remarkable cleanliness of the people and its cause we have 
before remarked; in other respects civilisation is doing much to 
level throughout Europe all outward distinctions in maimers, and 
we every day discover a greater approach to one standard of bearing 
and behaviour. 

The peasantry, with their stiffly starched caps hiding their hair, 
the plates of precious metal which encircle their ears and twist 
'sometimes spirally on their cheeks, their short petticoats and wooden 
shoes, are still everywhere visible; and give them a decided 
character, "but the upper classes are not distinguishable from the 
gentry of France, whom they imitate and resemble. 

The vast extent of pasture-land in Holland naturally feeds a 
large quantity of cattle, and the butter and cheese of this country 
are wfcll known, and are imported in large quantities. We have 
already spoken of the spirit of Schiedam called Hollands, and have 
made a passing mention of the linen manufactories of Haarlem. A 
good deal of this material is produced, too, in other parts of the 
kingdom, and is renowned for its whiteness. 

Utrecht boasts its velvets, and Leyden its cloths, and sugar is 
a staple manufacture. Tobacco has of late years been cultivated 
to a great extent; and in the neighbourhood of Arnlieim, fields 
of it may be seen flourishing, making a pretty contrast with the 
heaths and moors from which these cultivated patches have been 
stolen. 

The trade of Holland, though no longer in the flourishing con¬ 
dition which it could boast ere the gigantic rivalry of England 
appeared upon the ocean, is still very large when compared with 


NORWAY. 


the extent of her territory. Her settlements in the East Indies- 
keep a great many vessels afloat, and few countries show so great a 
carrying trade as this. 

As Mr. Richmond was apprehensive of the cold setting in and 
becoming too severe for his young folks to visit the north of Europe 
if their journey were longer delayed, he resolved to take advantage 
of a fine vessel starting for Norway, to embark at Rotterdam for 
that country, intending then to proceed through Sweden, Denmark, 
and Russia, and pass the winter in the south. 

The impressions made on our travellers by this part of Europe 
may be gathered from Herbert’s description of Norway. 


OUR TOUR IN NORWAY. 


Although Norway and Sweden form nowadays but one king¬ 
dom, so broad a barrier has been raised between them in the 
shape of a rugged mountain chain, that we prefer contemplating 
them apart. It is to Norway that we would first direct our readers’ 
attention, truly “ the land of mountain and of flood,” where nature 
seems to have felt a desire to prove her power by combining in the 
happiest manner all the elements of sublimity, and make man feel his 
littleness when surrounded by objects so majestic. 

The coast of Norway, the bulwark of the ocean, though bound 
with iron rocks, bears evident marks of the ceaseless lashing of the 
sea, which, by repeated efforts, aided probably by volcanic action 
within, has so worn away the more yielding portions of the land as 
to form multitudes of gulfs and bays, at the mouth of which huge 
cliffs, like giant sentinels, keep a grim watch, and oppose then’ bulk 
to the fury and beating of the angry waters. Indeed, so effectually 
do they guard the entrance of these creeks, called, in the language of 
the country, fjords, oes or voes , that on this account, and owing to 


) 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EURORE. 


tlieir extraordinary length, running many miles into the country, 
they wear as they get inland so placid an appearance, winding and 



glittering amid breaks of pasture-land and dotted round with 
promontories, shaded by the pine, that they have much more the 
aspect of mountain tarns than branches of the sea; for, in fact, so 
completely is the view of the ocean shut out from the traveller’s 
gaze, that he is at times positively startled as he journeys on, to 
catch sight of a vessel with all her sails spread to the breeze, tacking 
across these sheltered havens, from which no outlet is visible among 
the lofty cliffs. A fjord situated at Swinesund, in the southern part 
of the country, forming the boundary between the kingdoms of 
Sweden and Norway, is one of singular grandeur. The road, as it 
winds, leads you by a steep precipice, where, above and below, 
enormous granite rocks are heaped up in the wildest confusion. An 
arm of the sea lies at their foot, and so loftily do they beetle above 
it, that ships in passing to and fro sink into insignificance beside 
them. A pine or two, torn and disfigured by time and tempests. 


( 







































NORWAY. 


have insinuated their roots into the crevices of the cliffs, and bv 
solemnly waving their ragged foliage in the breeze, lend an 
additional wildness to the scene. 

It is on the coast at the other extremity of the country that the 
singular phenomenon known as the Maelstrom is situated. This 
dangerous whirlpool, so dreaded by mariners, has a roar equal to 
thunder, and so strong is the current setting towards it, that it is 
said to extend for a circuit of five or six miles; vessels coming within 
its attraction are drawn irresistibly forward, and are dashed to pieces 
against the rocks which are scattered round. 

The peculiar grandeur of Norwegian scenery is not confined to 
the coast. If we examine the interior of the country, fresh objects 
of admiration meet the view, the more impressive from the thinly 
scattered inhabitants and the general silence of the inferior objects of 
creation. The portions of pasture-land are but scanty,—stolen, as 
it were, from the rock, points of granite everywhere piercing the 
soil and arresting the operations of the husbandman: the rest is wild 
magnificence, where mountain, flood, lake, and forest, are mixed up 
together, sometimes in scenes of majesty and loveliness, at others in 
views of so stern and savage a character that man’s spirit quails 
before these hardy images of creation. 

The silence we have spoken of as a distinctive character of the 
scenery of this country is nowhere so remarkable as in passing 
through the miserable hamlets of the interior; for, as the people 
absent themselves all day from home, some to labour with their 
hatchets in the forest, others to wander on the mountain with their 
flocks, these little spots wear the aspect of places of the dead rather 
than habitations of the living, and impart a peculiar tone of 
melancholy to the traveller as he wends on his solitary way. 

Among the grand natural features of the scenery of Norway, the 
waterfalls hold a high place. As with advancing summer the snows 
get melted and swell the mountain-streams, the bold torrents rush 
swiftly through their rocky channels and bound impetuously onward 
in search of level ground. When accident divides the main stream, 
on its arriving at the spot where the troubled waters take their leap 
below, numberless rills, like crisped silver, fall hissingly beneath, and 
by their contrast with the black cliffs over which they pour, add new 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


beauty to the scene. Nor is their mode of falling less singular than 
the aspect of the water itself. Some rush down a steep a thousand 
feet in height in one long white and narrow course,—some run over 
hanks of foliage in sparkling foam, whilst others, by uniting their 
streams, bound madly below and send a voice of thunder far over 
the land. The falls of the Ruikan Fos, a name well known to 
travellers, is the grandest example in the country of the majesty of 
the scenery of this country. 

The delight arising from the contemplation of these picturesque 
objects is unmixed in Norway with any recollections or meditations 
on the past. Whatever man at former periods may have erected to 
perpetuate his name or gratify his pride, has been so completely 
swept away that not a trace remains; and though stone, and that of 
the hardest kind, is scattered in abundance through the land, it 
is evident that the pine-forest must have supplied the necessaries for 
building, and has suffered the fate of such perishable material. It is 
nature, and nature alone, that we learn to admire in these remote 
regions; no castle, no ivied fane, speaks to us of the feudal baron or 
the sandalled monk: the peaked rock, the green slope, and the lofty 
fir, meet our view, and tend, from the total absence of man’s labours, 
to raise our thoughts to a higher Intelligence. 

In countries situated in high northern latitudes nothing can be 
more striking than the contrast between the summer and whiter 
seasons; how long are those winter nights broken only by a few 
hours of day, when the sun with intense lustre breaks suddenly on 
the land and darts his beams upon the dazzling snow, which covers 
everything as with a mantle, and then rolls as suddenly away, 
leaving darkness in undisputed possession of the territory! 

How rapidly, too, does nature yield to the influence of the 
genial heat which characterises the summer months, and, putting 
off her wintry garb, clothe herself in verdant robes and crowd 
into the space of a few weeks the vegetation which months are 
required to produce elsewhere. None, but those who have sojourned 
in these latitudes, can conceive the power of the sun in those 
secluded valleys, or the magical effect of his glorious beams in bring¬ 
ing out the resources of the earth erstwhile so unpromising and ice¬ 
bound. 


NORWAY. 


It is wisely ordained that those periods of the year which, from 
their rudeness and inclemency, would seem to promise nought hut 
discomfort to mankind, become, in fact, from the necessity in part of 
guarding against their effects, the season of the greatest enjoyment; 
and thus is winter in Norway. The houses are log-built, and so well 
heated that no cold can get within; and when business or pleasure 
calls the inhabitants abroad, they are so protected from the atmo¬ 
sphere by skins, that little is to be feared from the utmost effects of its 
severity. Winter travelling is by sledges drawn by horses, the road 
oeing the bed of a river or lake at the bottom of a valley. A 
traveller may, by this means, get over seventy or eighty miles a-day, 
for there is no weight on the horses, and with good driving not much 
more resistance than would be felt with an ordinary pair of skates: 
where a road is much frequented, however, and ruts are made in the 
snow from the sledges which have gone before, the vehicle labours 
like a boat rowing against a head sea. It must not be imagined that, 
though the country is enveloped in snow, no interest is to be derived 
from travelling through it; the forest and the cliff appear black as 
they rise from the white mass, and often as the eye wanders to the 
summit of the mountain, clouds of downy atoms in wild confusion are 
seen to rise where an eddying wind falls upon the earth. A meeting 
with another sledge upon your solitary track is a matter, too, of some 
importance: a distant jingling of bells first breaks upon your ear, 
then a column of moving snow appears in view, and breaking through 
it, you behold one or two little horses, as the case may be, with long 
manes and tails, dashing freely along, the occupam of the sledge 
enveloped in his furs, and saluting you courteously as you fly in 
opposite directions. 

When winter has well set in and the sledge has replaced the cart, 
the inhabitants bring out their snow-skates, and perform their shorter 
journeys by their aid. These are slips of light thin wood the breadth 
of the foot, and five or six feet long, curved gently upwards at each 
end. The foot is slipped into a loop placed in the middle, and thus 
accoutred the skater starts upon his journey. He makes, of course, 
but little progress up the hill, and would slip back but for the resist¬ 
ance of a piece of hide bound round the skate, when mounting steep 
ascents. On level ground he slides along at a tolerable pace, as his 


THE RICnMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EURORE. 


feet do not sink into the snow; but down the mountains he flies with 
incredible swiftness. A pole guides his flight, and serves to arrest 
his course, which from its rapidity might carry him over the preci¬ 
pice. No little dexterity and practice are requisite to make a figure 
on these snow-skates; but the Norwegians, who are accustomed to 
them from their infancy, display marvellous ability in using them. 

The few towns that Norway can boast, though possessing but a 
small portion of that kind of attraction which is found in the cities of 
the south, are pleasing from the picturesqueness of their situation. 
Christiania, the capital, is placed at the top of one of those fiords 
which we have described as so peculiar and beautiful a feature of the 
country. As you sail up it, at times the water takes the appearance 
of a lake, being broad, enclosed, and surrounded by rocks and woods; 
then it narrows to the dimensions of a river with high, bold banks; 
and again it widens, as if by magic, into a majestic basin dotted with 
small isles; sailing past which the capital breaks upon you, its houses 
clustering at the head of the bay. The town itself is dull enough: 
there are but few shops, and they are not very brilliant; the popula¬ 
tion is scanty; and as the streets are built wide to prevent the spread 
of fire (a matter of some importance where the houses are composed 
of pine), and the buildings themselves are unimportant both as re¬ 
gards size and decoration, the place has a very deserted appearance. 

The beautiful lake of Myosen refreshes the traveller’s eye, between 
seventy and eighty miles north of the capital. There is too much 
cultivation on its banks to render it sublime, for crops of oats, pota¬ 
toes, flax, and peas, wave in every direction, and by their contrast of 
colours render the scenery very beautiful; still the Myosen is a 
splendid sheet of water, and the extent of cultivation round it imparts 
a pleasing impression of the industry and spirit of the Norwegians. 
There is a peculiarity about the houses in the country which is well 
worth recording. We have already stated that they are timber- 
built ; but it must not be, therefore, imagined that they are composed 
of the thin planks which constitute an English wooden tenement: no, 
they are substantial log-buildings, the huge timbers being laid one 
upon the other with a layer of moss between each, so as to keep all 
tight. The sides of the windows and doors are lined with planks, 
and in the bettermost houses the whole is boarded inside and out 


NORWAY. 


As the wood is on the farm, and labour only has to be taken into 
question, it is customary to have a distinct house for every domestic 
purpose, instead of constructing a large edifice with a vast variety of 
rooms, so that it not unfrequently happens that as many as a dozen, 
or even a dozen and a half, separate buildings may be found upon one 
clearing employed for the various requirements of the establishment. 

From the general character of the coast scenery one would be 
led to imagine that the Dovre Fjeld mountains would offer views of 
much grandeur; the rise, however, from the Myosen lake is, com¬ 
paratively speaking, so gradual that you reach the smnmit ere you 
are aware of the fact, and but for the patches of snow which cling 
about the more sheltered spots, you would scarcely imagine you had 
attained any considerable elevation. It is on descending the chain on 
the western side only, that the sublimer features of the mountains are 
brought out, and again you behold that mixture of crag, snow, cata¬ 
ract, and pine, with the graceful verdure of the birch, which is so 
peculiarly attractive and Norwegian. 

The town of Drontheim, with its 15,000 inhabitants, is, like the 
capital, more remarkable for its situation than its internal beauty or 
local interest. It boasts nearly the only building of antiquity in the 
country,—namely, a cathedral which dates as far back as 1030, with 
additions at more recent periods. It is a strange mixture of what 
we are accustomed to call Saxon and Gothic, having both the round 
and the pointed arch, and is profusely supplied with those grotesque 
heads and figures, and that zig-zag ornament we are so familiar with. 
Portions of it have been built of timber, and repeatedly destroyed by 
fire, and only one end is now in use, the remainder being employed 
as a store-yard. 

A good deal of trade is carried on through the Drontheim Fiord. 
The little town of Levanger, situated on one of its inlets, affording a 
good shelter for small vessels, is a place of considerable importance, 
and may be looked upon as a kind of commercial outport for the trade 
of Drontheim. When winter is advanced and the snow covers the 
ground, large numbers of Swedes come across the Fjelde, conveying 
in sledges the products of their country, and exchanging them for 
articles they stand in need of. Thus the Drontheim Fiord supplies 
a readier communication with the north of Sweden, and even a parr 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


of Russia, than the route through the Baltic Sea, for it is never so 
entirely impeded by ice hut that the connexion with the ocean is kept 
free, and by the shortness of the journey it offers immense advantages 
over the longer navigation of the Baltic and Bothnian Gulfs, only 
open at certain seasons of the year, and consequently allowing but 
one annual voyage to distant countries. 

The only other town of importance in the country is Bergen, an 
episcopal see, and one of the most ancient places in Norway. It is 



H1TT.ERDAL CHURCH. 


picturesquely placed in the middle of a long fiord, and the approach 
to it from the sea is finely diversified with huge rocks, which seem 
to deny all access to vessels, and, indeed, render navigation difficult. 
























































NORWAY. 


It possesses a manufacture of earthenware, and builds a good many 
vessels in the course of the year, particularly for the fishing trade. 

At the northern extremity of the Peninsula lies the wild and for¬ 
bidding region inhabited by the diminutive race of Laplanders. Their 
numbers are but small, probably not greater than twelve or fourteen 
thousand altogether, and their modes of living are peculiarly their 
own. The wealthier portion of the community possess rein-deer 
flocks, and come to the Norwegian and Swedish markets to sell frozen 
venison, rein-deer skins, and cheese, lodging meanwhile like gipsies, 
in outhouses and barns, and sometimes in the rudest tents. Others 
of this people follow the calling of fishermen, at which they are very 
expert, and the remainder are servants, herdsmen, and beggars. They 
are looked upon by the Norwegians as an altogether inferior race 
to themselves, and, indeed, their puny stature and peculiar formation 
stamp them as such; yet they are not wanting in intelligence, as 
their success as boat-builders will prove; and had more pains been 
bestowed to acquire their language, and thus obtain a direct medium 
of communication with these diminutive beings, much more import¬ 
ant results would, doubtless, have been gained than can at present 
be shown. 

Climate in Norway is, for the most part, steadier than in Great 
Britain. The western coast, especially in the neighbourhood of 
Bergen, is very rainy, but beyond the mountain-chain it is equally 
dry. The winter is cold, but it is a dry and exhilarating cold, 
stimulating to exertion; snow covers the earth for several months, 
and rarely leaves it till summer has set in; there is, consequently, 
little or no spring, and the sudden change from winter’s severity to 
the heats of summer is by far the most unpleasant portion of the year. 
But the summer itself is delightful; so warm, indeed, at noon as 
almost to preclude out-door exercise, but offering in the evening and 
at midnight hours of the greatest enjoyment. The sun being below 
the horizon for so short a time, the sky retains all the warmth of tone, 
and the air all the dryness, which are so grateful to the feelings. 

The natural history of Norway offers some peculiarities which 
are worth attention. In the first place, there is a singular scarcity of 
all those birds we are so familiar with in England. The crow, swal¬ 
low, and magpie, are numerous enough, the last being very tame; 


THE RICHMONDS' TOUR THROUGH EURORE. 


but favourites, as the linnet, lark, blackbird, robin, and thrush, are 
very rare, and even the common sparrow is almost banished. The 
bear is often found on the Fjelde; and in June, when the snow begins 
to melt, the female with her young ones comes out of the woods to 
feed. This is considered by the sportsman as the best time to shoot 
them. Two or three people generally unite, and proceed with cau¬ 
tion, in readiness to support each other, as, to fall in with one of these 
animals unprepared, or to woimd without disabling him, would be 
dangerous for one man. The period of hybernation among these 
and other animals in Norway is a curious feature of their existence. 
Tiie bears retire to their dens in the rocks of the Fjelde in November, 
and remain in a dormant state without food till April; and though 
quite fat at the time of retiring, are meagre and exhausted when they 
reappear. This would seem to show that supply of food or tempera¬ 
ture is the cause of this habit of hybernating or wintering, for in a 
lialf-tame condition the peculiarity disappears. The extreme north 
of Norway is not unfrequently visited by the white bear and walrus, 
the ferocity of the former being described as very great, and suffi¬ 
cient to deter his being attacked except by a formidable body; yet a 
couple of men with lances will despatch him with comparative ease, 
one taking him in front and the other at the side. Small dogs are 
sometimes used as in hunting the common Norwegian bear. As hi 
all the ursine tribe the most tender parts are the posterior, exposed 
when they walk and vulnerable even by smaller animals; when the 
dogs bark and attack the bear behind, he instinctively sits down to 
cover his hinder parts, and defends himself with his fore-paws. 

The rein-deer, the native of Lapland and the friend and com¬ 
panion of its people, is often seen in Norway conveying parties of 
Laplanders to the different markets. The rein-deer in harness has a 
single thong fastened to a collar, which passing between his legs is 
attached to a sledge, and for travelling to a distance, three hundred¬ 
weight is considered a good load. Many fables have been related of 
the speed of these animals, some travellers having asserted that they 
would get over upwards of two hundred English miles per day; 
whereas, if we were to set the number down at sixty, or even less for 
several days in succession, and according to the obstructions pro- 
bably offering from the snow being in too soft a state, we should 


NORWAY, 


undoubtedly be nearer the truth. They are very tame, are easily 
satisfied in the way of food, and, from the numerous uses to which 



almost every portion of their frame is put by their masters, are 
invaluable. 

There are many wolves in the Fjelde, and they occasion much 
damage to the flocks; but they are not the dangerous animals of the 
south of Europe. They very rarely attack a man, and are not 
dreaded even by women or children. 

The Lofoten islands, stretching off the north-western coast, are, 
from January to June, the scene of bustle and excitement. This is 
occasioned by the cod-fishery, which is carried on generally with much 
success, and is a very considerable branch of Norwegian industry. 
The herring-fishery is carried on nearer to the coast, and likewise 
employs a large number of men. Besides these two important gene¬ 
ral fisheries, every creek of every fiord, even at a hundred miles 
from the ocean, yields forth abundance of cod, whiting, flounders, and 
other fish familiar to ourselves for daily use and sale. 

It is to Denmark we must refer for the early history of Norway, 
for the Norwegians, Swedes, and Danes, though known by the latter 
name, were constantly united in early ages as the most daring and 
successful pirates, and were looked upon by the peaceful inhabitants 






















tiie Richmonds’ tour through eurote. 


of more southern climes with very natural horror. At a later period 
"1367) Norway became united to Denmark, and afterwards to Sweden, 
with which country it has since remained under the same crown. 

The established religion of Norway is Lutheran, though all forms 
of worship but the Jewish are tolerated. 

The Norwegian language is almost identical with the Danish, and 
its literature naturally forms a part of that of Denmark, which is 
daily growing in importance. 

The summer Costume of the young men in the interior of Norway 
is very pleasing, more particularly as, like most northerns, they are 
cleanly in their habits. The white slashed woollen jacket; the well¬ 
fitting waistcoat, green or blue, with a double row of bright metal- 
buttons, sometimes silver; the tight dark-coloured breeches, furnished 
with buttons of the same shining materials; stockings well gartered; 
and light shoes of rough leather, with a smart black hat, cocked 
jauntily on the head, make a costume which it only requires a hand¬ 
some face and figure to render highly picturesque. Our notions, 
however, of the attractive in dress do not extend to the women of 
the same class. In person they are sufficiently w r ell grown, but the 
habit of making the waist imder the arm-pits, although once tlio 
fashion of our own country, can never be rendered graceful, or even 
sightly. They delight in brilliant colours, though blue is mostly 
worn, and where buttons can be placed to make the costume smarter, 
there they are thickly sown. A gentleman’s whiter driving dress is 
worth a passing description. He puts over his ordinary attire a pair 
of huge boots, lined with sheep-skin, which come up over his thighs, 
and sometimes even puts a pair of rein-deer skin shoes over his boots. 
Then he puts on a skin pelisse, either rein-deer, w r olf, or dog, and 
a leather great-coat over all. He wears wolf or deer skin mittens 
on his hands, and a fur cap, with ear-lappets, on Ills head; and 
thus equipped, although as unwieldy as an ancient knight armed 
cap-a-pie, he may bid defiance to any amount of cold. 

Norway exports fir-timber, a little silver, and fish dried and 
salted; she imports almost all necessaries, for the soil is not rich 
enough to supply sufficient corn for the inhabitants. Her trade, 
however, is considerable; her ships are stout, her sailors hardy, and 
Norwegian vessels are seen in all parts of the world. 


SWEDEN. 


We must not seek in a description of Sweden the sublimity of 
scenery which is to be met with in Norway. We no longer quail 
under the shadow of gigantic rocks, lashed by the restless ocean; no 
longer tremble at the sight of precipices, to the bottom of which the 
eye tries to penetrate in vain, but from whose depths issues the dull 
and gloomy sound of rushing water; no longer stand awe-struck 
before the spectacle of countless streams, the branches of some over¬ 
grown torrent, rushing madly from a giddy height, the spray flying 
like a snow-storm over the landscape, as the falling mass is caught 
by some eddying wind; but we gaze with delight upon the spectacle 
of rapid rivers, noble hills, extensive forests, and magnificent lakes, 
round which lie clustering the most comfortable white tenements, 
the greenest fields, the most picturesque villages, that ever charmed 
the eye of traveller or the lover of varied scenery. Nor are the 
grander features of Nature wanting to complete the picture, though 
the ruggedness visible in Norway is everywhere softened in the 
sister country by the appearances of a more grateful soil, a higher 
state of cultivation, a larger population, and, as a natural consequence, 
a greater amount of wealth. 

But nowhere does beauty more delight to take up her residence 
than in the splendid forests spread over the country. The roads, as 
they wind through them, are finely kept, and the eye wanders 
with delight through verdant glades, gazes with ineffable pleasure on 
the contrast of tints offered by the spruce and fir, and glances with 
admiration at the waving tops of the lofty trees with their varied 
foliage, cut out, as it were, on the light blue background of the sky. 
It is only where timber is so plentiful that the wild majesty of wood¬ 
land scenery can be viewed to advantage. Some mighty fir, perhaps, 
has fallen, from very age, and lies supported in the outstretched arms 
of his surrounding children, who wave their green boughs over him 

as though in sadness. Here again, a gigantic tree, a hundred feet in 

c c c*c 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROrE. 

length, has reached the ground, and, tying for years untouched, has 
become the dwelling-place of a very world of creepers;' its bark tom 
off, or covered up with moss; its timber rotting away, and presenting 
altogether a spectacle of melancholy beauty rarely to be met else¬ 
where. 

And as we issue from the depths of the forests and regain the 
open country, how delighted are we at the spectacle of some quiet 
lake, a lonely sheet of water, so clear and unruffled that the sand and 
pebbles are plainly visible at the bottom, a few cottages, a white sail 
reflected so distinctly in the mirror below that it is hard to distinguish 
which is boat and which is shadow, and water-fowl quickly skimming 
over the surface, apparently the proprietors of the fairy scene! 

Nature, too, has lent some of her richest tints to adorn the 
margins of these lovely lakes; wild blossoms in every variety of hue 
crowd richly on each other; the myrtle with its glossy leaves and 
pretty flower grows abundantly on their banks; and the beautiful 
water-lily floats profusely on the bosom of the water. 

If the contemplation of the earth in Sweden is so delightful by 
day, the aspect of the heavens at night in these high northern 
latitudes is peculiarly fine. The atmosphere is so clear and dry that 
each star shines out with unimamned lustre; all our childish 

O J 

favourites seem to have grown bigger and brighter, and we feel 
at the same moment most grateful and most humbled as w r e gaze on 
these glorious objects of creation, amid which we, poor atoms, can 
only wonder, dream, and pray! 

The great mineral wealth of Sweden naturally calls the attention 
of the traveller to the districts whence the treasures of ore are 
obtained: and as he wanders across the country and observes it 
almost destitute of wood; as he remarks the vain attempts at cultiva¬ 
tion of the sandy plain, and feels the murky atmosphere singularly 
oppressive to the lungs, he may conclude that he is approaching the 
great copper territory of Falun. These are the appearances which 
"greet the view ten miles distant from it; and as the traveller draws 
nearer other evidences come to prove his vicinity to the unwholesome 
district. Few trees, and those with scanty, dried-up foliage, no 
shrubs, a bitter herbage upon which the hungry horse will scarcelv 
^ ^ eed, no birds, no insects, and a dense smoke for ever 


SWEDEN. 


hanging in the air,— these are the features of this singular part of 
the country, amid which rises the town of Falun, the capital of 
Dalecarlia. Its houses are good, the streets regular, and it possesses 
a brick cathedral with a copper roof, quite green from exposure. 
The place is interesting from its having been for some time the 
residence of the great naturalist Linnaeus (whose real name is, how¬ 
ever, Linne), who there practised physic and gave lectures on 
mineralogy. The most important of the copper-mines lie in the 
immediate vicinity of the town, but the copper region covers a space 
at least thirty miles long by six to eight miles wide. The descent to 
the principal mine is by rude wooden steps, and ladders, which, after 
numerous windings, take you some eleven or twelve hundred feet 
beneath the surface. The descent is broken by huge chambers, one 
of them said to be 1300 feet long by 350 wide; and as the eye 
wanders round the vast cavern, and marks the swarthy countenances 
brought out in strong relief from the glare of the torches, it is 
impossible to forget that it was in these gigantic halls the shout 
of “ Liberty ” was first raised in Sweden, and from whence it spread 
with irresistible power across the country. The rocks are blasted as 
in ordinary quarries; the masses detached are broken with large 
hammers, and are then conveyed above to be burnt. Other produc¬ 
tions besides copper are derived from these mines, viz., a portion of 
gold, some silver, lead, vitriol, ochre, and brimstone; the copper ore 
is not very rich, since the best yields scarce 20 per cent and the poor 
ore but 1J. 

The iron mines of Dannemora present a different aspect to the 
unwholesome region which contains the copper. The part of the 
country where they are placed is for the most part level and w'ell 
cultivated, and heaps of the precious metal in its unpretending suit of 
brown lie by the way-side on approaching the entrance. So rich is 
the yield that it is asserted the whole bed from the surface down¬ 
ward, as far as the excavations have gone, is almost solid Lon, the 
average produce of the stone being 60 per cent of metal. 

The descent into the huge pit is perpendicular, and from its great 
depth, 500 English feet, looks fearful on approaching the edge. 
Buckets, about five feet deep, convey the ore and workmen up and 
down the shaft, and on reaching the bottom you discover heaps of ice 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROrE. 


and snow, which are rarely entirely melted. As none of the ore is 
smelted at the mine, on account of the difficulty and expense of 
conveying thither the enormous masses of fuel requisite for the pur¬ 
pose, it is kept in heaps till winter has set in and the friendly snow has 
made a natural and level road. The iron-stone is then placed in 
carts, which are fitted to a simple sledge, formed of a strong wooden 
frame, with two curved pieces of fir in lieu of skates, and by the aid 
of a horse or two, is easily conveyed to its destination, some twenty 
or thirty leagues distant. 

Although descriptions of the first impressions a traveller receives 
of a country ought to be received with great caution, they are the 
only correct ones as regards that country’s cultivation, general order, 
and the class of houses it contains; for, after a lengthened stay, such 
things become familiar in his eyes, and he can no longer judge 
of them with that freshness which would characterise his first 
sketches. He is surprised then, in his wanderings, to observe all the 
houses in Sweden built of wood, that material being as universally 
employed for the purpose as in Norway; it cannot be from lack of 
stone, for granite and other rock abound. There are two reasons, 
and both are good ones, for the choice. Timber is not only cheaper 
in the fashioning, but it is more comfortable than stone, a wooden 
house beino- cooler in summer and warmer in winter than a building 
constructed of any other material. Of course we mean the substan¬ 
tial log-built dwellings of the country; not, as we observed in 
speaking of the Norwegian ones, the frail plank sheds of England 
which go under that title. Most of the houses have, however, a 
stone basement rising a few feet from the ground, so that the wooden 
portion is above the damp. A handsome flight of broad steps leads 
up to the principal entrance, and as the buildings are well kept and 
painted, and glass is not spared, they have really a handsome and 
substantial appearance. They have a custom of covering the clean 
floors of houses in the country with tops of young shoots of the 
spruce or juniper, which certainly is a better substitute for a carpet 
than the sand still used in the humble dwellings of other lands; and 
though the odour the crushed sprays emit is at first too strong to be 
agreeable, the senses of sight and smell soon get accustomed to the 
fashion, and end by finding it actually pleasant. 




SWEDEN. 


It is impossible for tlie traveller to be long in Sweden without 
longing for a sight of its romantic capital; and when once he has 



gazed upon it, once dwelt within its hospitable precincts, he is not 
very likely ever to forget the impression which such sojourn will 
make upon his mind. Imagine a city built upon seven distinct 
islands, three of them so close together as to be united by thirteen 
stone and several other timber bridges, these islands being placed at 
the outlet of a large lake (the Millar), which empties itself into an 
arm of the great Baltic about as far from the coast border as London 
is from the sea—conceive the houses backed by rich foliage, heaped, 
as it were, one above the other, and everywhere intermixed with 
massive rocks, dark pines, quiet gardens, ship’s masts, and bright green 
pastures, with the waters from the lake rushing through the channels 
in a torrent until they are merged in the deep green of the vast inlet, 
whilst a superb palace in the Italian style of architecture towers in 
the air, and seems to crown the city with a tiara of magnificence— 







































































































THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE, 


figure to yourself these elements of beauty, arranged in the most 
picturesque and dramatic groupings, and confess that Stockholm has 
indeed a claim to our admiration and our praise. The palace we 
have mentioned is that of the king, and with its broad and massive 
quays, when it looks towards the harbour, has a grand appearance; 
and the terrace above, decked with the gayest flowers, contrasts 
finely with the masts of the vessels springing from far below: the 
building, which is of colossal size, contains a good picture-gallery, a 
well-arranged library, and a handsome chapel. The city does not 
present so many public buildings as its imposing appearance would 
lead one to expect. A large cathedral, two or three other fine 
churches, among which must be particularly noted the Riddarholm, 
on account of its containing the ashes of many of the great Swedes of 
history; a military hospital, a foundling hospital, and one or two 
other structures of less note, and they are all. But, perhaps, in no 
capital in Europe is the scarcity of public edifices less felt than in 
Stockholm; for in no other city, probably not even in the sunny 
south, do the inhabitants delight so enthusiastically hi country 
amusements as in the Swedish capital. A carriage drive about two 
miles long will take you to a lovely park, which Nature lias lent her 
best aid to make in the highest decree romantic; irregularities of 
ground, hill, vale, rocks, and trees, abounding on the spot, which 
man has further adorned with modern villas of pleasing archi¬ 
tecture, Swiss cottages, and Italian verandahs. Coffee-houses, 
small theatres, dancing-rooms, are spread profusely over the grounds, 
and the aspect of the glittering water and gay crowds combine to 
render the scene no ordinary one. The king has a favourite palace 
here in the Rosendahl, or Vale of .Roses, and, although built of wood, 
as are all the other structures in the park, is very tastefully and even 
classically designed. This is the chosen retreat of the good folks of 
Stockholm; the first fine days attract the whole city to this delightful 
place, and music, dancing, feasting, are carried on to an extent which 
seems to speak greatly in favour of their love of amusement and 
joyousness of heart. 

Interest of another kind greets the traveller at the venerable city 
of Upsala, which may be reached by steamer in a few hours. It is 
truly one of the most old-fashioned places in Europe, and not without 


SWEDEN, 


many claims to beauty. Its fine university, also, is so bound up with 
the name of Linnaeus, that it is impossible to mention it without im¬ 
mediately thinking of the great naturalist. The city is built on a 
gentle height in the midst of a large and well-cultivated plain, and 



viewed from a distance, this ancient seat of learning has an air of 
peace and solidity which lends it a great charm. The principal 
portion of the university is a handsome, newly-built structure of 
simple Tuscan architecture, and gains vastly in appearance from the 
beauty of its situation, for the hill on which it is placed is laid out in 
public walks, from wliich is obtained an extensive and varied pro¬ 
spect. The old university contains little beyond the library, with its 
100,000 volumes, and portraits of Swedish worthies, among wliicli a 
collection of all the Yasas is highly interesting. The institution was 
founded in 1478, and, like most of the European universities, was 
modelled on that of Paris. The principal hall of the Museum of 
Natural History contains an excellect life-size statue of Linnaeus in 




























































































THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


white marble. The cathedral, although built of brick, is an imposing 
edifice. It contains the costly tomb of Gustavus Vasa and the 
humble monument of Linnaeus: most of the Swedish kings have been 
crowned in this building, and here, too, they lie interred. 

The great route from Stockholm to Tornea, at the head of the 
vast gulf of Bothnia, passes through some flourishing towns, of which 
Gefle, Hernosand, and Umea, are the principal. The situation of 
Tornea invests it with even greater importance, and a brisk trade is 
carried on there with Russia, Norway, and Lapland. On a small 
elevation near the town is an observatory, from which the traveller 
may view the sun at midnight in the month of June. 

River after river has to be crossed in traversing this interesting 

O O 

country; none of them are very broad, but most of them are rapid 
in their course, are diversified with bills of greater or less magnitude, 
and, when swollen by the melted snows, look very grand as they 
pour onwards to the sea. The roads, however, are excellent, and 
contribute not a little to add to the traveller’s comfort, who can thus 
at his leisure admire the beauty of the surrounding scenery. The 
coast is finely diversified, and though it cannot boast the wonderful 
fjords of Norway, is still deeply indented, and displays most 
picturesque points and headlands. 

Sweden possesses but few records of antiquity worthy of attention ; 
Nature has, indeed, done so much, the mind feels but little want of 
them; yet the one or two historical monuments it retains are, 
although simple, of a very interesting kind. In the neighbourhood 
of Falun, the copper town, stands the cottage of Ormis, once the 
residence of the hero Gustavus Vasa, after his escape from Denmark, 
and where he meditated those noble acts of daring which w T ere only 
to terminate with the liberation of his country. Four centuries have 
swept over the ancient building, and yet the timbers cling together, 
and by the care devoted to the preservation of everything connected 
with the hero, the cottage will, probably, brave two or three ages 
more. 

It is one of the properties of genius to invest with interest the 
simplest things with which it comes into contact. The lordly castle 
may be passed with a hasty glance; while the peasant’s hut which 
has been the abode of genius becomes an object of endless attraction. 


SWEDEN. 


Almost the whole country lying between Falun and Carls tadt, 
on the northern shore of the great inland sea, called Lake Venern, is 
rich in mineral productions; and Philipstadt, a day’s journey from 
the former, is truly an iron town. The land is, for the most part, 
level; the blue hills, faintly visible on the horizon, scarcely promise 
you the striking and romantic scenery which they contain in so 
eminent a degree. Carlstadt offers little of attraction; the town is 
neat, and the inhabitants are lively and hospitable, hut nothing 
prominently arrests the traveller as lie journeys onwards. It is at the 
other extremity of this vast lake, which, after the Russian one of 
Ladoga, is the largest in Europe, that the country again assumes its 
romantic character. This inland sea has a splendid outlet in the 
river Gotha, which fumes along its course with the greatest fury. As 
you follow the rush of the waters for a few miles, you become every 
moment more conscious of a ceaseless roaring sound, which falls 
fainter or stronger on the ear with every variation of the breeze. 
You press onwards, the eternal clin growing momently clearer to the 
sense, when, at last, breathless with admiration, wonder, awe, you 
stand before the stupendous falls of Trollhoettan ! No description can 
ever convey the effect produced upon the mind at sight of this 
glorious cascade; the whole river rushes, as it were, down the side 
of a mountain, torn into chasms by the resistless violence of the 
torrent, so that the maddened waters fall in no part with measure or 
regularity, hut now bound upon a rock where they fly into myriad 
specks of foam, now rush into a deep cavern whirling round and 
round with dazzling rapidity, then rushing forwards split into endless 
streams, which dash from ledge to ledge till they reach the valley 
below, where they pause, as it were, to recover their serenity ere 

they continue their course to the sea. But the beauties of this 

*/ 

lovely river do not cease with the falls. As the stream wends on its 
way, it is at times closed in by lofty mountains, bristling with tall 
trees white with age, at times bordered by well-trimmed lawns, at 
the head of which glistens some goodly mansion. Here it reflects a 
lofty cliff, with a solitary hut perched like an eagle’s eyrie on its 
summit; and there the broad sail of some hardy vessel, from which 
comes stealing over the water the well-known sailor’s cry, perchance 
the only sound which breaks the stillness. The Gotha is crowned 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 

by a fine city, where it empties its tired waters into the Cattegat. 
This is Gottenburg, or, as the Swedes call it, Gotheborg, the place 
which holds the first rank after the capital; and this, not merely 
from its trade, activity, and population, but from the beauty of its 
situation, resembling Stockholm thus in all its features. The houses, 
which are built on the slope of a hill, rise from the water’s edge, and 
as they are placed in a rich setting of foliage, and are ever and anon 
broken by the projection of some fantastic rock, the scene is one of 
great loveliness. The fine river, too, is covered with ships, and the 
sea stretches leagues beyond, with many a bold cliff to stem its waves. 

The neighbourhood of Trollhoettan is no less remarkable as 
offering to our view one of the grandest labours of man’s ingenuity 
than as presenting to us the aspect of Nature in one of her sublimest 
moods. In order to open a communication between the Baltic and 
the ocean, and avoid the long and inconvenient passage by the Soimd, 
it was resolved that a canal should be cut from the Gotha to Lake 
V enern, as the falls precluded the use of that river beyond a certain 
height. To effect this, however, there was the necessity of cutting 
through rocks which would have seemed to defy mere mortal prowess, 
and of carrying vessels by a gigantic flight of steps, as it were, to an 
elevation which it seemed little short of madness to attempt to scale. 
The steepness may be guessed at from the fact, that within a space 
of less than nine hundred yards there exist no fewer than fourteen 
locks, which may be nearly all embraced at a single glance from 
below, and form, with the addition of vessels at different elevations 
on this enormous staircase, a spectacle such as can be scarcely met 
elsewhere. To the honour of our country w r e may mention, that 
Mr. Telford, the English engineer, furnished the final plans for this 
grand undertaking; and others of our countrymen superintended 
the completion of the work, which was effected in 1800. 

A few other towns, in a more or less flourishing condition, are 
scattered along the coast of the Cattegat, and deserve a passing men¬ 
tion. . Warburg is a large and handsome place, with fine sub¬ 
stantially built houses running regularly along well-paved streets. 
Helmstadt is a considerable town, boasting a tolerable trade. Chris- 
tianstadt, said to be the strongest fortress in Sweden, is much visited 
by foreign vessels for supplies of such articles as the country exports; 


SWEDEN. 


whilst Carlscrona, on the Baltic Sea, possesses ample means for ship¬ 
building, and has an excellent harbour. 

Sweden boasts of two principal islands in the Baltic, both of 
which merit attention. One, Oland, a long narrow slip lying parallel 
to the south-eastern coast, and very fertile; the other, Gothland, 
■which, from its convenient situation in the centre of the inland sea, 
has been fancifully called «the Eye of the Baltic.” It is productive 
and woody, and has large quarries of stone. Some opinion of its size 
may be gained from the fact, that it possesses a population of some 
40,000 souls. 

There is more variety in the climate of Sweden than the position 
of the country would lead one to expect. The north possesses a long 
and dreary winter, with nights which appear of endless duration, 
being weeks in length, and days almost as long, with the sun con¬ 
stantly in view. In the southern parts, the seasons may be reckoned 
two; there is neither spring nor autumn, properly so called, and the 
summer is generally very hot. The great charm is to be found in 
the lovely summer nights : they are so dry and clear that the 
inhabitants almost live in the open air during their reign, and show 
their gratitude for the delight they afford by using them to the 
utmost for the purposes of recreation. No people in the world seem 
more thoroughly imbued with a fondness for Nature than the Swedes. 

There is nothing in the zoology of Sweden to merit more than a 
passing remark, as the observations made on Norway will equally 
apply to the sister-country. Bears and wolves, with a lynx or two, 
are met with in the mountainous districts, but rarely come into the 
plains, and wild fowl of various kinds visit, in the greatest abun¬ 
dance, the quiet watery nooks of the north. Every kind of aquatic 
bird may at certain seasons be met with, and white hares are 
frequently seen. 

The early history of almost all the European nations is so alike in 
character, that a description of one may serve as a counterpart of 
the rest. The bickerings and warfare of antagonistic tribes—the 
despotism of certain rulers and powerful chiefs—the introduction of 
Christianity, and the emerging from barbarism into the first glim¬ 
mering light of civilisation, belong equally to all; and the ancient 
annals of Sweden show no exception to the rule. After wading 


’’ THE RICHMONDS 5 TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 

tlirougli descriptions of uninteresting military exploits, and passing 
in review a host of Erics, Idacos, Magnuses, and Alberts, we reach 
the year 1387, and find Margaret, a princess of Denmark, queen of 
that country, Sweden, and Norway. Tliis celebrated heroine, known 
as Queen of the North, exercised royal power for thirty-seven years, 
and by her talents maintained authority even in those turbulent 
times. Her successors were greatly troubled with the jealousies 
existing between the three nations, Sweden endeavouring with each 
succeeding monarch to free herself from the domination of Denmark. 
This was at last effected through the exertions of Gustavus Vasa, of 
whom we have more than once spoken, and whose adventures and 
perils form a tale of most romantic interest, as he had, in his strug¬ 
gles to free his country from the Danish yoke, and fight his way 
upwards to a throne, not only to contend with Sweden’s natural 
enemies, hut with the lukewarmness of his compatriots. All diffi¬ 
culties were at length overcome, and in 1523 Sweden became severed 
from Denmark, and an independent state, under the sovereignty of 
Gustavus Vasa. It so remained, beneath the sway of various 
monarchs, among whom Gustavus Adolphus, Queen Christina, and 
Charles XII., were the most remarkable, till the year 1814, when 
Bernadotte, one of Napoleon’s generals, being on the throne of 
Sweden, having been invited over by the unanimous voice of the 
nation in 1810, and having assumed the crown by the title of 
Charles (John) XIV., united Norway to the sister-country. Unlike 
other of the French Emperor’s soldiers, Bernadotte not only retained 
his kingdom till his death, beloved and honoured by his subjects, 
but has left it in the hands of his son Oscar, who is now the reigning 
sovereign. 

The legislature is composed of the king and four distinct bodies,— 
viz. the nobles; the representative clergy and professors; a house 
of representatives of the royal burghs; and a house of representatives 
of the peasants, or small farmers. The votes are given by classes, 
and not by each individual. Each body is entitled to propose any 
legislative measure, but it does not become law without the consent 
of the majority of the four. The king’s veto is effectual against 
such majority, and, even when they are unanimous, he has the power 
of rejecting the bill. The States meet every five years, but the 


SWEDEN. 


sovereign can summon them at any time, should their deliberations 
be required for any unforeseen occurrence. 

Although Norway and Sweden are united under one crown, the 
former still retains its own form of government. It has an upper 
and a lower house, composed of the gentry and cultivators of the 
land ; and their meeting is called the {e Storthing.” The monarch is 
not even represented at their sittings; and, although he possesses the 
executive power, all legislative acts are passed by the two Chambers 
alone. 

The Lutheran form of Protestantism is the religion of Sweden; 
but opinion is free. Neither in this country, however, nor in Norway, 
is the same strictness of worship observed as in England; for, after 
divine service on the Sabbath, amusements of all kinds are entered 
into with the greatest zest by all classes of the people. 

The Swedish language is another branch of the great Teutonic 
stock,—expressive, powerful, and often sweet, particularly in its 
liquids. Although for a long period scarcely known beyond the 
country where it was spoken, it has of late years been closely studied 
by many of our countrymen, as its literature is one which offers 
peculiar interest to ourselves. The names of many of Sweden’s 
writers are now becoming familiar to English ears, and deserve all 
the reputation they have earned. The poets Bellman and Tegner, 
Geijer the historian, and Frederika Bremer the novelist, are well 
known to us; but there are many of equal merit, of whom we can 
merely judge by report, because the mode in which their genius is 
displayed is too national to allow of their works being translated 
with advantage. In the departments of art and science, Sweden 
boasts of Puffendorf, Linnmus, Swedenborg, Scheele, Berzelius, and 
others, whose reputation is European. 

The costumes of Sweden are various, but, it may be remarked, 
are only so among the peasantry, or lower classes of the people ; for 
those who pretend to greater refinement adopt the dress and fashion 
of Paris and other great European cities. Gay colours are in great 
favour, particularly with the men; some wearing a suit of red 
tartan—jacket, waistcoat, and trousers, all of the same showy mate-* 
rial. The farmers, again, will appear in long blue great-coats, with 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 

Hessian boots, and stupendous nosegays in their button-holes; 
whilst the women often dress in black, with a white or silk kerchief 
tied in Italian-peasant fashion over the head. The Dalecarlians 
have a costume of their own; a round slouched hat, covering long 



and flowing hair, a brown frock-coat, and large jack-boots, set off 
strongly-made figures to advantage. 

But of the Swedish costumes, the boatwomen of Stockholm 
surpass all others in picturesqueness. They also are from the valleys 


















































































































SWEDEN. 


of Dalecarlia, wliich they leave at an early age for the perilous life of 
a gay capital; sometimes returning enriched to settle in their native 
villages; sometimes toiling away their lives in the hope of enabling 
themselves to do so; and sometimes, alas ! yielding to the temptations 
which Stockholm offers in dangerous abundance. Their dress is 
composed of a crimson woollen jacket, with bright buttons; a blue 
cloth kirtle, with apron of red and white stripes ; thick red stockings, 
and the most extraordinary shoes imaginable, with wooden soles an 
inch thick, and a heel another inch high, placed in the middle of the 
foot, so that it is really astonishing how they can get on with them. 
The market women, again, are quite Oriental in the style of their 
attire. They roll a long kerchief round the hair, and let the loose 
end hang upon the shoulders; and wear a long white cloth robe, 
with a red binding open at the girdle, and pinned up so as to display 
a brilliant petticoat of huge dimensions. None of the ordinary 
women, it may be remarked, wear a bonnet; a stiff cap of muslin, or 
a tight one of wool, or a kerchief, as before described, is all; but 
the hair, for the most part, is uncovered, and is dressed with great 
neatness and beauty. 

Much has been said of the intemperate habits of the sturdy 
occupants of these northern regions, and it must be confessed with 
some truth, as at all their feasts and merry makings drinking is freely 
indulged in; as their convivial meetings, too, are not scanty, this 
vice is of tolerably frequent occurrence ; but it must be said, on the 
other hand, that there is so much of primitive hospitality existing 
among them, that they are often betrayed into excess from their 
desire to set their friends at their ease. 

In our descriptions of the peculiar features of Sweden, we have 
more than once spoken of the productions of the country. Her 
forests furnish timber, pitch, and tar, to the greater part of Europe, 
and her mines supply abundance of iron and copper. The land is 
well cultivated, and agriculture has been of late years considerably 
improved; still Sweden often requires supplies of grain from other 
countries to make no the deficiencies of her scanty harvests. Her 
manufactories are few, but they are greatly on the increase, and 
larger intercourse with foreigners.occasioned by the greater activity 
introduced by railways, will, doubtless, develope new branches of 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


industry. Saw-mills have, of late years, been established in various 
parts of the country, and paper-mills are actively employed. Tobacco 
is cultivated rather largely, and employs a great many hands. The 
Swedes from the earliest times have been a sea-faring people, and 
were a commercial nation before Portugal made her famous nautical 
discoveries. They have neither lost their reputation nor skill for 
these pursuits, though younger countries have gone so far beyond 
them. Their ships are still staunch and well manned, their commerce 
in proportion to the population is very considerable, and the friends 
of Sweden observe with pleasure that her trade is daily growing in 
importance. 

We must not take leave of Sweden without mentioning the ex¬ 
cellent fishing which its numerous fine streams offer to the angler. 
Prom the enthusiasm shown for this kind of sport by many of our 
enterprising young compatriots, much good is likely to accrue to the 
country from her rivers being so well provided, as at certain seasons 
of the year many will be attracted to this interesting land. In spite 
of the difficulties presented to travellers in former years, there were 
still many found bold enough to face and overcome them; how 
many more visitors may not, therefore, be expected now that steam 
is opening an easy road to the most favoured and agreeable districts? 
As nothing is more likely to conduce to good feeling, and throw 
down the barriers raised by ignorance and prejudice before all that is 
imperfectly known, than personal and friendly intercourse, it should 
be matter of sincere rejoicing that every day is bringing us nearer to 
so desirable an end; and so certain are we of the large amount of 
sterling good existing among the inhabitants of Sweden, that a fur¬ 
ther acquaintance with them in their own country and at their own 
houses will but make the bonds of fellowship between us the stronger 
and more lasting. 


* 


DENMAEIC 

The goodness of the Creator has been so largely bestowed upon 
the human race in the adorning of this globe — man’s temporary resi¬ 
dence—that there is scarcely a spot upon it which is not replete with 
beauty, or from the study of which he may not derive instruction. 
The changes of the seasons, we all observe, bring us in our tempe¬ 
rate climate fresh cause for admiration ; the budding leaves of spring, 
the full-blown glory of summer, the rich and varied tints which deck 
the rich scenes of autumn, and the sparkling silvery aspect of dark 
winter, are all alike beautiful both from contrast and in themselves. 
It happens, too, that different countries of the world, on account of 
their position, present to our view the aspect of perpetual spring, an 
ever-glowing summer, or vast tracts of ice and snow which suns 
shine upon, but do not melt:—and as we remark the adaptability 
of climate to comitry, and country to climate, and see how wonder¬ 
fully man is in harmony with both, so that their very ruggedness 
and severity are often the secret causes of his attachment to them, 
we cannot but meditate with reverence on that Eternal power and 
wisdom which have so benignly ordained such results, and placed 
within our reach such a source of happiness in their contemplation. 

1 liave been led to make these observations by the contrast pre¬ 
sented by the appearance of the two preceding countries described 
with that offered by Denmark. The sublimity of Norway, the 
grandeur of parts of Sweden, disappear ; but to leave much quiet, pas¬ 
toral beauty in their place. 

It is curious that no portion of this kingdom should bear the 
name by which it is known to the world; the appellation Denmark 
signifying the marches or limits of the Danes; and the country being 
composed of a fine cluster of islands in the Baltic, the peninsula of 
Jutland, and the dukedoms of Schleswig, Holstein, and Lauenburg. 
Each of these portions has features peculiar to itself; and the popu¬ 
lations dwelling in them bear not only the character which the acci¬ 
dents of soil and temperature of the atmosphere have imparted to 

DD'OD 


THE RICHMONDS TOUR THROUGH EURORE. 


them, but exhibit in strong colours the peculiarities which they have 
inherited from their forefathers. 

Denmark has a vast range of coast scenery, but, with the excep¬ 
tion of the islands, it is low and uninteresting; these latter, however, 
present points of view of considerable interest, and a voyage among 
them, when favoured with fair weather, will amply repay the fatigue 
of a traveller who has an eye for calm and rural beauty. Steam- 
vessels now perform this trip with regularity, and by touching at 
different points on the route lend increased pleasure to the journey. 

On starting from the flourishing port of Kiel in Holstein, and 
sailing down the bay of the same name, a varied scene greets the 
view, the shores on each side being clothed with foliage, amid which 
peeps out full many a farm-house, whose situation not a few palaces 
might envy. The banks slope down to the water’s edge, and present 
fresh charms at every point, till the entrance of the bay opens before 
you with the bolder sweep of the waters of the Baltic, and island 
after island clad in suits of varied green, seems to rise from the 
waves and grow larger and bolder as the vessel pursues her way. 
The lanky strip of Langeland, which well deserves its name, the 
verdant and fertile shores of Laland and of Falster, are alternately 
passed, when the eye turns from the land prospect to gaze at the 
animated picture presented by the channel beyond, where vessels 
of all dimensions and of various rig are hurrying to and fro, bound 
on their different missions of peace and trade. How naturally does 
the mind revert to the days when these islands were teeming with a 
population hardy, restless, enterprising, the dread of the fruitful coun¬ 
tries farther south; when their compact barks must have been visible 
beneath many a sun like this, shining as brilliantly upon their un¬ 
couth sails as he now looks down upon the modern ship with all the 
various forms of canvass, which it spreads to the breeze. A thousand 
years have fled since then, and yet the aspect of Nature herself can 
scarce have changed! 

Zealand, the largest of the islands, upon a point of which the 
capital is placed, offers the aspect of a land where not a rood of 
ground is thrown away, the soil being tilled to the very edge of the 
precipitous shore. The isle of Moen, lying to the south-west, shows 
a fine range of white cliffs where it looks towards the sea. As large 


DENMARK, 


trees have clustered in every cleft, tlieir foliage presents a singularly 
beautiful contrast with the hoary rocks, and as the water is deep 
close in shore, vessels can sail past, within reach of the spreading 
branches. This is the boldest prospect of the whole country; quiet 
beauty is, I have before remarked, the characteristic of the scenery 
of Denmark; it is often sweetly pretty and even romantic, but it 
never rises to grandeur or sublimity; many portions are even flat 
and tame. Jutland particularly, being low and marshy, whilst 
Schleswig and Holstein present to the view extensive plains, wooded 
knolls and comfortable homesteads, and are intersected with several 
lazy streams and tranquil sheets of water. 

The first appearance of Copenhagen (Kjobenhavn, or the Mer¬ 
chants’ Haven), visible as the city is at a distance of some twenty miles 



or more, cannot but be singularly interesting to an Englishman. 
There is the spot which is so entwined with the memory of our 
greatest naval hero, that the very mention of the Danish capital 
seems, like a talisman, to bring Nelson to our minds. As the eye, 
again, wanders farther along the coast, the “ stormy steep of 














































THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 

Elsinore conjures up a host of memories, and <( the melancholy 
Hamlet,” such as we have all delighted to picture him, seems to 
rise before us and brood upon his wrongs. How wonderful are the 
powers of genius, when a being thus created from its inspirations, 
can convey to all time an impression upon mankind as durable as 
that produced by a living and earthly hero ! 

But on a nearer approach Copenhagen deserves’ attention for itself, 
for although its situation is not remarkable, so much taste has been 
displayed in the arrangement of its buildings, each point being used 
to advantage, that it presents a handsome, and even imposing ap¬ 
pearance. It is also very strongly fortified, indeed, it is one of the 
strong places of Europe, and whatever objections a peaceful traveller 
may be inclined to make to bastions, fortresses, and citadels, he must 
confess that they add very considerably to the noble appearance of a 
large city on entering it from the sea. The new portions of the town 
are neat and commodious, the streets being regular and the houses 
lofty; true, the footpaths might be wider and better guarded, for they 
are situated high above the road, and are narrowed by house-steps 
straggling across them, yet, as they are tolerably paved, such incon¬ 
veniences can be overlooked, as they are better than in many other 
cities of the Continent. The thought of one of Europe’s greatest 
sculptors naturally leads us early to the spot where his labours are 
to be found. This is the Thorvaldsen Museum, where, in lofty halls, 
most of the splendid creations of this great man are disposed. The 
Church of the Virgin, in the Grecian style, contains some more of 
Thorvaldsen’s works, among which are the noble statues of our Saviour 
and the Twelve Apostles. Copenhagen boasts several palaces of 
imposing architecture. Near the museum above spoken of, stands 
the Christianensburg,—truly an immense building, adorned with royal 
chapel, picture-gallery, a curious collection of Northern curiosities, 
and a royal library adjoining, of 400,000 volumes. The gardens of the 
Rosenburg palace are among the most agreeable walks and drives in 
the city; avenues of trees opening to the sea, and presenting a charm¬ 
ing variety of scene. The grounds belonging to the Castle of Frede- 
ricksberg are another favourite resort with the inhabitants of Copen¬ 
hagen; and as they are but a short distance out of town, and omnibuses 
are plentiful, they are always well filled on days of recreation. A por- 


DENMARK. 




tion of the city, very neatly, though simply constructed, hears the name 
of the Sailors’ Town (Matrosenstadt.) The houses are occupied gratui 
tously by the wives and families of sailors engaged in the fleet; an 
affectionate provision of the careful Danes which cannot be too much 
admired. 

Part of Copenhagen, called Christianshavn, stands upon the island* 
of Amak, to which it is connected by bridges; and most of the sup¬ 
plies of vegetables, milk, cheese, and butter, are derived therefrom. 



It is related that a former Queen of Denmark peopled this fertile little 
spot, with a colony brought from North Holland ; the industry and 
























































THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


peculiar habits of their ancestors being still retained by their de¬ 
scendants, who are easily distinguishable from the other inhabitants of 
the capital. It is on this island that the Church of our Saviour, with its 
famous spire, rears its head to the height of 288 feet from the ground. 
An outside stair winds to the very summit, and looks fearfully steep, 
as, corkscrew-like, it twists taperingly upwards. Another flight, or 
rather roadway, of equal celebrity is to be seen in the Round Tower 
of the Church of the Trinity, 118 feet high. The ascent is so gradual 
that many tales are prevalent of persons riding and driving to the top; 
Peter the Great, among others, being said to have accomplished this 
feat. It is a matter of astonishment on reaching the summit, to find 
not only an observatory, but the university library, whose 113,000 
volumes are tastefully arranged beneath the converging roof. The 
University itself, founded in 1478; an Exchange of quaint architecture, 
several Squares or Places, a Museum of art, with sundry records of 
Tycho Brahe, are also among the worthy memories of Copenhagen, 
which, though it cannot boast of the wonders of many of the other 
European capitals, has much to interest and please. In the depths of 
winter, when all the water about the city is converted into a solid 
mass, the change in its aspect is, of course, remarkable. To the 
movement of winged vessels succeed the whizz and animation of 
the sledge; and the objects of trade and recreation are carried on 
through its means. The Baltic, for some miles round the coast, 
is generally thus fettered for some months during every year, and 
it is recorded that in 1333 the whole sea was frozen over, from 
Liibeck to the Danish islands. 

The neighbourhood of Copenhagen is dotted with the country- 
houses of the wealthier inhabitants, the scenery amid which they are 
placed bearing the prevalent features of the island;—gentle knolls, 
well-cultivated nooks, clumps of fine beech-trees, which are as 
frequent in Denmark as the elm is in England, are to be found in 
every direction, one universal character of peacefulness hanging 
over a country once so famous for the turbulency of its population. 

The royal Gothic palace of Fredericksburg, in the small town of 
that name, about twenty miles from the capital, is a fine specimen of 
its peculiar style of architecture, and contains many pictures of 
repute; and a few hours’farther journeying will bring the traveller 


DENMARK. 


v . 


in sight of Elsinore, the Sound, where toll is levied on each passing 
ship, the graceful castle of Kroneborg, and on the horizon the blue 
misty hills of Sweden. We have already referred to the peculiar 
interest which these various spots hold out to an inhabitant of 
Britain, but he will seek in vain in their neighbourhood for any 
more tangible memory of the “ Prince of Denmark ” than that which 
he bears about him in his own imagination. 

Few other towns exist in Denmark of sufficient attraction to 
merit more than a passing notice. Altona, though the second place 
of the kingdom, is but a mere lazy continuation of the bustling city of 
Hamburg. A railroad runs from it to Kiel. Gluckstadt, on the 
right bank of the Elbe, the capital of united Holstein, is a flourishing 
town; Braunstedt and New Munster in the same duchy, built and 
kept with Dutch neatness, are pleasing from their bright and cleanly 
appearance; Schleswig is rather remarkable from its position as the 
chief place in the duchy of the same name than from its population 
or trade; Lauenburg may be similarly described, and one or two 
smaller towns in the swampy plains of Jutland Proper complete the 
list. 

I have already observed that portions of the Baltic are usually 
frozen over for some months each year; it may, therefore, be 
conjectured that the winters are severe; the flatness of the comitry 
makes this severity more sensibly experienced; but when ice and 
snow have at length yielded to milder breezes, summer sets quickly 
in, and the nights are light and beautiful; the inhabitants make the 
most of the few weeks of warm weather, and spend them, as far as 
possible, in the open air. 

The natural history of Denmark is only of the domestic kind, for 
agriculture and cultivation have driven all wild animals from the 
kingdom. The cattle of Holstein are well known, and the horses 
are particularly admired for their beauty, compactness, and strength. 

The early political history of Denmark is so mixed up with tnat 
of Sweden and Norway, that it is scarcely possible to separate their 
annals. The former inhabitants of this country, more particularly 
the people of Zealand, were among the hardiest and boldest of 
maritime warriors. They swept all the southern coasts that were 
within reach of their vessels, and returned laden with spoil to their 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


island home. In the time of King Sweno, or Sweyn (1014), they 
made a descent upon Britain, and expelling Ethelred II. from the 
country, raised their own monarch in his place. To him succeeded 
Canute, whose fame is so widely spread, and at his death Ilardi- 
canute became monarch of Denmark. A long series of tumultuous 
years, during which the three countries of Norway, Sweden, and 
Denmark, were alternately at war and closely united, then succeeded; 
after which we see Yaldemar the Great, Duke of Schleswig, on the 
throne of the latter kingdom; this was in 1157. A prosperous 
reign of twenty-five years, followed by others equally so, raised 
Denmark to a high state of civilisation and power, which went on 
gradually increasing till 1387, when Queen Margaret united the 
three countries under her sway. The feudal system, wherein many 
a wealthy baron possessed almost as great power as the sovereign, 
caused her descendants serious trouble, and have left an inheritance 
of care which is felt even in these modern times. The Counts of 
Holstein felt themselves too influential to submit patiently to the rule 
of the sovereign, and the Holsteiners have in our dav shown them- 
selves too ready to revolt. In 1523 Sweden was separated from 
Denmark; Norway still remaining annexed to the latter comitry till 
1814, when it was united to Sweden under Bernadotte, and the 
different kingdoms were composed as they at present stand. Among 
facts worth recording, with reference to the history of Denmark, it 
may be mentioned, that it was under Christian III. (1534-1559), 
that the Duchies of Holstein and Schleswig were united to it; that 
it was Frederick YI. (1784-1840), who emancipated the peasantry 
of his dominions from slavery, and granted them civil rights; and 
that it was also under this monarch, that the war with England 
occurred, when Nelson and Sir Hyde Parker forced the passage of 
the Sound, and defeated the Danes at Copenhagen, in one of the 
most terrible engagements on record; the whole of the Danish fleet 
being shortly after captured. Frederick VII. is now upon the 
throne, having been crowned in 1848. 

Although at a former period one of the most despotic countries ot 
Europe, Denmark now enjoys a very free constitution, the gift of 
his Majesty Frederick YI. 


DENMARK. 


' i 


By its regulations, the country is divided into four electoral dis¬ 
tricts, with an assembly appertaining to each, summoned, at the least, 
once in two years; these divisions are,—the Danish Islands, electing 
70 representatives; Jutland Proper, 51; Schleswig, 44, and Hol¬ 
stein, 48: but Lauenburg possesses an old constitution apart, and 
is governed by a local council. No law affecting person or property 
can be promulgated without the consent of these assemblies, and they 
also sanction new taxes, and levies for the public service. 

Denmark is essentially a Protestant country, and follows the 
Lutheran form of that religion. It is tolerant to all other sects, and 
Catholics and Jews follow their own rites without hindrance or 
molestation. 

Its language is of Teutonic origin, and is perhaps the softest of 
the various dialects derived from that powerful source. That it is 
capable of most varied expression is evident from the richness of 
Danish literature and the worthy list of great names, which have 
adorned it since it has become generally employed in composition. 
This use of the language did not happen till some centuries after the 
introduction of the taste for Latinity, which at the same period 
spread itself over Europe, and limited all learning to a select few. 
This over, a purer and more national feeling ensued, and after an 
acquaintance has been made with the works of Arreboe, Halberg, 
Evald, Baggesen, and above all, Oehlenschlager, we shall be forced 
to confess that Denmark has truly reason to be proud of so rare a 
combination of poetic talent. The name and productions of the 
Danish prose writer, Hans Christian Andersen, are almost as well 
known in England as in the country which gave him birth, but a 
more extended knowledge of the language in which he writes would 
open to us stores of interest and instruction of which that author is 
but one of the numerous creators. Of men of genius in other depart¬ 
ments of learning, the numbers are indeed great. Tycho Brahe, the 
astronomer; Thorvaldsen, of whom we have already spoken ; Rask, 
the wonderful traveller and linguist; Malthe Bruun, usually styled 
Malte Brun, the geographer; and a host of stars of no less magnitude, 
have made the Danish name as widely known as the dominion of 
civilisation itself extends. 

Owing to the varied composition of the kingdom of Denmark, 


THE RICHMONDS TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


there is great variety of costume among the lower classes of society, 
almost every different duchy and division having some peculiarity of 
dress distinguishing them from others. This is more evident, how¬ 
ever, among the female than the male portion of the population, for 
beyond the length of their coats, and the prevalence of blue, there is 
little to distinguish them. The peasant women delight in short 
woollen skirts trimmed with a coloured border, and frequently striped, 
whilst their hair is often fancifully braided, and sometimes covered 
with a stiffly starched cap or a silk handkerchief. In Holstein, a 
straw hat is frequently worn, and at Kiel, the senseless round black 
beaver, that universal male appendage, often covers the glossy heads 
of the gentler sex. I have mentioned the little isle of Amak, part of 
Copenhagen, as being originally peopled from Holland; the damsels 
of that quarter, as daughters of wealthy farmers, do not fail to display 
their wealth in the richness of their attire, and adorn the national 
dress with an incredible amount of gay ribbons and bright colours, 
which produce a pretty effect in the crowded promenades on days of 
festivity. 

Perhaps no people have undergone a greater change in national 
character than the Danes. From the most restless and turbulent of 
populations, they have become quiet, orderly, and forbearing. Hot 
that the enterprising spirit which distinguished them in former 
periods is lost; on the contrary, it burns as fervently as ever, but it 
is tempered to the times in which they live, and is made subservient 
to their present position. It is true, that the disaffected spirit which 
has been spreading of late years so largely on the Continent, has not 
failed to visit Denmark, and to find sympathy with many of the 
inhabitants of the old duchies, where the memory of former conflicts 
with their sovereign had not yet entirely expired; but we will hope 
that beneath the sway of their enlightened monarch, the Danes will 
discover that their true interests lie in attachment to the constitution, 
and that a falling off from their allegiance can produce no other 
result than their own undoubted ruin. 

The broad tracts of meadow-land in Holstein and Jutland feed a 
large quantity of cattle, and dairy produce is therefore raised to a 
considerable amount. The farms of Holstein have been long cele¬ 
brated for their richness, economy, and careful working; and agri- 


DENMARK. 


culture is pursued to an extent, which more than supplies the neces¬ 
sities of the country. Denmark exports cattle, cheese, and butter, 
and is sometimes enabled to exchange portions of her corn for such 
commodities as the inhabitants require. Wool, too, and tallow are 
amongst her exports, with a few hides and salted meats. Her manu¬ 
factures are not numerous, although the attention which is being 
bestowed upon their establishment and working will soon raise them 
to a more flourishing: condition. The cloths and laces of Denmark 
are well known and appreciated ; and other branches of industry are 
springing into notice. The Danes were among the earliest European 
navigators, and have deservedly earned the reputation of first-rate 
sailors. The usual destiny attending worldly things has fallen upon 
this maritime power, and she no longer enjoys the rank which she 
once held among the naval celebrities of the world. Yet the mer- 
chant marine of Denmark holds a respectable rank, and is still a 
source of wealth to her citizens; and as she holds distant foreign 
possessions, her vessels are found tracking every ocean, and her flag 
flies at intervals in most of the havens of the globe. 



THE ISLAND OF ICELAND. 

We ought not to omit, in a description of Denmark, a slight 
sketch of her most singular dependency, for Iceland has peculiarities 
of interest to make it dear to all classes of reflecting beings. Lying as 
it does on the very outskirts of civilisation, it offers us the spectacle of 
a people, unlike most of those who are within its pale; by its singular 
formation it displays to us the majesty of the Creator’s hand, and the 
clothing which Nature puts on in so remote a region; and we should 
never cease to remember how much we owe to this seemingly un¬ 
productive island of that fanciful, yet vigorous character, which has 
at all times distinguished the literature of the North. 

The island of Iceland is about eight or nine days’ sail from Co¬ 
penhagen, and about half way thither the rocky archipelago of Foeroe, 
also a Danish possession, rises boldly amid the restless waves of the 
North Atlantic Ocean. It was to one of the excursions of the early 
Norwegian freebooters that the discovery of Iceland was due; and 
in spite of the terrors which its first appearance must have excited 



























































THE ISLAND OF ICELAND. 


among so superstitious a people, the love of freedom at different times 
carried fresh hands of adventurers from the disturbed peninsula; 
for in this remote spot, at least, they were enabled to follow their own 
inclinations and enjoy the exercise of unfettered opinion. The inha¬ 
bitants must have sadly degenerated, however, since those days, 
for we shall seek in vain among the present denizens of Iceland 
for the intelligence and magnificent independence of character which 
made its former in-dwellers so remarkable. Truly, as we examine 
more closely the features of the country, we have stronger reason to 
admire that resolution winch could have willingly bartered the fair 
isles of Denmark, and the mixture of sublimity and beauty visible 
in old Norway and bright Sweden, for a spot so remote and me¬ 
nacing as this. For miles and miles upon your way across this 
region, your path is lava, and still lava, displaying the various hues, 
which a longer or shorter exposure to the air has wrought upon it. 
Here, perchance, it will be seen clothed with a mantle of moss ; there 
showing a few tufts of stunted grass; anon, it will be found broken 
into fissures, whose depth can he merely guessed at, for the eye 
cannot penetrate to the bottom; and then its rugged heaps will 
widen, and display an extensive hog or morass, clad with doubtful 
verdure, amid which mounds of the same hue will rise, to which 
fancy easily applies the notion of vast graves as mementoes of by¬ 
gone generations. And the prospect on all sides is bounded with 
ranges of high mountains, grey, threatening, and barren, with heads 
of snow, and shining glaciers, reflecting back the rays of the summer 
sun as though they were armed with steel. Birch-trees (if trees they 
can he called, which are scarcely more than a few feet from the 
ground], some ferns, moss, and a hush or two, are almost the only 
vegetation of the country; hut so apt are we to attach ourselves to, 
and boast of, the productions of our own land, that a birch springing 
five feet from the earth is looked upon by the Icelanders with a 
sort of veneration as a splendid tree. The wonders of this island lie 
in the numerous springs and volcanic eruptions to which most parts 
of it are liable. The mind scarcely tires at observing the various 
forms of these remarkable appearances. From the summit of some 
hills you may gaze upon spots where a number of natural basins 
are filled with bubbling water, which, at intervals, throw jets 


THE RICHMONDS* TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


into the air; others which cast out volumes of steam* whilst every 
fissure of the scattered rocks will pour out its boiling stream* to aid 
the wonderful effect. 

Iceland possesses also a variety of caverns of most romantic 
formation ; huge blocks of lava mixed with moss, ice, and snow* being 
piled above each other in the most picturesque manner, and from the 
absence of all life* impressing the mind with the most solemn re¬ 
flections. But the most remarkable of the curiosities of this sin¬ 
gular region is the famous Geyser* which has at all times excited the 
astonishment of mankind. In a valley of some extent* rise various 
mounds of a few feet in height* to the top of which you can climb 
with ease. On reaching the summit you find yourself at the edge of 
a basin* about thirty feet in diameter* with a caldron in the midst* 
measuring some six or seven. Both are filled with water* clear as 
crystal, and bubbling as it gently boils. Suddenly a low* rumbling 
noise is heard from beneath, like the distant murmur of artillery* as 
a warning to retire from a spot so full of danger; again and again 
the noise is repeated* when, just as you have become familiarised to 
the sound, the water with prodigious power rushes impetuously up¬ 
wards, and column after column rises into the air till you are lost 
in awe at the imposing spectacle of this grand fountain of Nature’s 
creation. Many of the jets are calculated to rise to the height of a 
hundred and thirty feet, and to be not less than three or four in 
diameter. The Geyser is the grandest of these extraordinary springs, 
though there are others equally as remarkable. One called the 
Strokker displays the greatest violence, throwing jet after jet to an 
immense height, and the eruptions continuing for a lengthened period. 
Others are remarkable for the fairy-like clearness of their water and 
the singular beauty of their position, but all possess features of interest 
and admiration, and would be looked upon with the greatest astonish¬ 
ment if uneclipsed by the magnitude and splendour of the Geyser. 

In the midst of these natural wonders, rises the volcano of Ilecla 
as the crowning glory of the island. The approach to it is very beau¬ 
tiful, from the singular contrasts it presents : on one side lie fields of 
velvet green, on the other vast mounts of black and glossy lava. 
The foot of the mountain displays glaciers and snow-fields of dazzling 
whiteness* with a jetty lava-peak protruding from the brilliant mass; 


THE ISLAND OP ICELAND. 


and a little farther on, at the foot of a gentle hill, lies a pretty lake, 
with sheep grazing on its shores. On reaching the summit of the 
highest point, which is of difficult ascent, and is said to be 4300 feet 
above the level of the sea, a world of the grimmest features of nature 
lies stretched beneath you ; glaciers, ravines, fields of snow ; lava in 
every variety of rock and stream and ridge, cast together in the 
wildest and grandest confusion, with no moving thing in sight to call 
back the wondering soul to the ordinary current of daily life. No¬ 
thing can exceed the feeling of desolation which steals over the mind 
of the traveller from other lands in these distant regions. It is not 
so much the aspect of sterility, the absence of all those objects to 
which he has become endeared, and which speak to him of home; 
it arises from the utter solitude and silence which meet him at every 
turn, and whisper to him in solemn language of the power of that 
Being who has conceived and created such marvels, and of his own 
nothingness as he stands among them. Other countries offer to him 
pictures of gladness, wealth, beauty; Iceland presents to his re¬ 
flections the aspect of might, the image of majesty; aftd his vanity 
and petty pride are swept mercilessly away in presence of the gran¬ 
deur of the Almighty. 

Iceland boasts of few towns and villages, and those she possesses 
are scarcely worthy of the name. Reikjavick, the capital, has barely 
a population of five hundred souls, and the others are even more 
thinly peopled. It consists of one single street, with scattered wooden 
houses and a few stone buildings; a school, a church with a font by 
Thorvaldsen, whose parents were Icelanders, and a library. The 
dwellings themselves, owing to the want of energy of the inhabitants, 
are miserable enough; and dirt and disorder seem the prevalent 
features of the greater part of them. Havenfiord, the principal port, 
is the residence of one or two Danish merchants, who have imported 
some of the conveniences of their own land to their distant habitations; 
in other respects it resembles the rest of the island villages, being 
dirty and uncared for. The neighbourhood is picturesquely diver¬ 
sified with true Icelandic scenery; masses of black lava, in fastastic 
forms, like the abodes of a departed race, lying scattered over a wide 
range, the tops of many being clad with moss and presenting from a 
distance the aspect of dwarfish trees. 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


We have mentioned the supineness of character of the inhabitants 
of Iceland, and the falling off from the bold and independent spirit 
which was the primary cause of this island’s being peopled—for, sin¬ 
gularly enough, they seem now to display a disposition diametrically 
opposite to that which distinguished their forefathers, and certainly 
none of the poetic features with which we have been accustomed to 
portray the Icelanders distinguish them at the present day. Although 
following the same religion as the country under whose government 
they live, they seem to be so little imbued with the necessity of respect 
for the temple in which their worship is performed, as to use it in 
most of the villages as a storehouse and lodging for such travellers as 
may pass through their country; and however utilitarian the system 
nay appear, it is scarcely in consonance with our ideas of propriety. 

The costume of the male portion of the population differs but 
little from that of the peasantry of the Continent of Europe ; a piece of 
sheep or seal-skin, rudely shaped, used instead of the ordinary boot 
excepted. The women of the lower class wear a man’s cap, set 
jauntily upon the head, with a pendent tassel, and some of greater 
pretensions have spencers and belts worked with silver-thread on a 
dark ground, and a stiff, black collar, generally velvet, and orna¬ 
mented in the same way about then' necks. Fashions, however, 
nowadays travel so fast and far, that even here among the upper 
classes the modes of the European capitals are adhered to, and silk 
dresses, with the other paraphernalia of modern female attire, are 
visible in the streets of Iceland towns. 

The cows, sheep, and horses of the island, are smaller than the 
generality of those of the Continent. Nature kindly provides them 
with winter coats of unusual thickness, which falls off about the end 
of May, by which time they present a singularly ragged appearance; 
it is not necessary to shear them, for the wool may be plucked away 
by hand. Many spots about the island are frequented by the 
eider-duck, and its down is among the few articles imported by the 
Iceland merchants. 


the place glande and hotel de ville, Brussels. 


BELGIUM. 

There is not, perhaps, a country in Europe, which, in propor¬ 
tion to its size, can offer such combined attractions as the one we are 
about to describe. We are taught to look upon Gallia Belgica as 
the spot whence came the earlier inhabitants of our own land. At a 
























































































THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


later period we find the Battce , or Batavians — so were the people 
called — exciting by their bravery the admiration of the Romans. 
The territory has at all times been the place selected as the battle¬ 
field of contending armies; Rome, Austria, Spain, England, France, 
having at various periods made it the scene of glory and of carnage; 
and yet, in spite of the desolation which the presence of war must 
inevitably entail upon the land long subject to its influence, the 
architect, the artist, the traveller, and the lover of the picturesque, 
still turn with delight to Belgium, as containing gems of art of 
unflagging interest and beauty. 

Several causes may be adduced for the circumstance of Belgium 
having been so often the battle-field of Europe. The wealth of its 
inhabitants (the result of their personal industry) offered a great 
temptation to the cupidity of the needy and the lawless,— their 
stubbornness and courage, by preventing a too easy subjection, 
lengthened the period of hostilities; and the formation of the country, 
also, distinguished by no line of demarcation from the vast tracts on 
its southern borders, by offering an easy ingress and egress from the 
soil, must have contributed not a little to invite each fresh invader. 

Of the ancient provinces forming the Netherlands, or Low 
Countries, very few now remain entire. Holland has borne away at 
least a moiety of the northern portion; France has encroached upon 
the southern states, and Prussia has enforced her claims to several of 
the richest districts on the east. The Belgium of our dav consists of 
the provinces of Namur, East and West Flanders, South Brabant, 
Limburg, Liege, Hainault, and Luxemburg. 

In the countries we have previously visited and described, lying 
on the very outskirts of civilisation, man and his works dwindle into 
insignificance in presence of the sublimity of Nature; here, on the 
contrary, Nature for the most part puts on a quiet, unassuming 
aspect, and allows her rival Art to display her most attractive charms. 
Yet, as if still anxious to retain a hold upon the affections of her 
worshippers, she has clad many districts of Belgium with her most 
winning graces, and reigns supreme along the course of the lovely 
river Meuse. Although the portions of the country, bordering on 
Holland, partake of the pastoral, level character we have described as 
appertaining to that kingdom, the southern provinces display scenery 


BELGIUM. 


of a very different kind. A range of lofty kills and a wide expanse 
of forest ground are tlie cause of this diversity; and no one who has 
once traversed these romantic spots will be apt to lose the impression 
they made upon his mind, notwithstanding the lapse of years, and his 
subsequent sojourn in the fairest places of Europe. 

The coast scenery of Belgium does not assume a much bolder 
appearance than that of the sister country on the north; high sand¬ 
banks, called Downs—a natural barrier against the encroachments of 
the sea—undulate gently along the shore, becoming bolder and 
blacker as they proceed farther south. Many of the views inland 
retain also somewhat of the character of Holland; canals being 
plentiful and the soil level. As you travel on, however, eastward and 
south, the meadows rise and fall, change into hills and grow into 
mountains; the mountains themselves are clad with wood and 
broken into ravines, and being pierced, too, with the rushing waters 
of divers rapid streams, this part of the country assumes a character 
of romantic interest, which few would suspect its possessing on 
entering Belgium from the sea. 

The city of Brussels claims our first attention, not merely as the 
capital of the country, but on account of the many associations 
connected with it, and the beauty of its situation. It was a place 
of some importance even in the seventh century, and has always 
been a favourite resort of foreigners. It seems to have derived its 
name from the word Broussailles , brambles or bushes, as it originally 
composed part of the great forest of Soignies, which was cleared for 
the construction of the infant city. The river Seime, as it takes its 
course through a pleasant valley, gracefully diversified by gentle 
mounds, runs through the metropolis of Belgium, and contributes in 
no slight degree to enhance the beauty of its position. As the city 
stands on a rising ground, it is divided into the upper and lower 
towns, in both of which the same quaint houses which we noticed 
in Holland stand out in picturesque independence of each other 
In England, where the dwellings are, for the most part, constructed 
in rows and terraces, there must be some happy combination of 
architecture to render them interesting to the eye; a degree of 
sameness pervades the streets, an air of monotony hangs about each 
square; and although none can deny the scrupulous cleanliness visible 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


m each habitation and staring from each shining window, few will be 
disposed to admit that they can have any pretensions to artistic 
beauty. The cities on the continent offer a great contrast to the 
utilitarian spirit which has ever held such influence in our practical 
country. Each house being built apart, and in accordance with a 
feeling more apt to study luxury at the expense of economy, and 
even prudence, than ever found favour with ourselves, the result has 
been an effect most attractive to the lover of the picturesque,—an 
effect too, greatly enhanced by the vagaries of the architects of the 
times when these buildings were constructed, who seem to have 
allowed their imaginations to run riot in stone, and to have strained 
them to the very utmost to excite the wonder of after generations. 
This is peculiarly the case in Belgium, old Flanders. Every 
dwelling is a picture, every cornice a study; and the multitudes of 
illustrations bearing on the country, which fill the portfolios, and 
crowd the walls, of the wealthy and artistic classes of our own land, 
prove that there must be some great peculiarity to excite such 
universal admiration. 

The open squares, or places, of Brussels are very fine, and boast 
some noble buildings. The Grande Place, sometimes called the 
Place de la Regence, is particularly so, and the Hotel de Ville, or 
Town Hall, which stands on one side of it, is a curious specimen of 
Gothic architecture with an elevated and graceful tower. This 
building was commenced in 1401, and occupied forty-one years in 
construction. Several structures, whose antiquity is not less remark¬ 
able than their style, are scattered through the town, and attract the 
attention of the curious; the Mint, a handsome and spacious Theatre, 
and some fine churches, are among the celebrities of Brussels; and 
the principal streets are adorned with fountains which, with various 
pumps, supply water to the inhabitants. Among the sacred edifices 
the church of St. Gudule stands pre-eminent. It is enriched with 
monuments, pictures, and painted glass, and contains some remarkable 
specimens of wood-carving; the vast and beautiful pulpit constructed 
of oak occupies a prominent position, and is an interesting monument 
of art. There are, at least, a dozen more ecclesiastical edifices 
worthy of note, each of which contains some object of attraction or is 
renowned for the beauty of its architecture. 


BELGIUM. 


Brussels is frequently called a little Paris, and certainly there are 
many points wherein the capital of Belgium reminds the traveller of 
the latter city. The passages or galleries adorned with shops, the 
brilliantly lighted and decorated cafes, the general appearance of the 
people, thronging the gay streets and the equipages dashing through 
them, have much the same general character. Most of the Con¬ 
tinental towns are well supplied with public walks and drives, and 
Brussels is in this respect particularly favoured. It boasts of a very 
handsome park, tastefully laid out, comprising about fifteen acres, 
adorned with groups and statues of marble. The king’s palace, a 
large modern building, stands at its northern extremity, with a fine 
avenue in front, ornamented with the statues of the twelve Caesars 
and a fountain; whilst to the south lies the Botanical Garden, one 
of the best-arranged and most agreeable on the Continent of Europe. 
The spacious Boulevards, or ramparts, present, also, a succession of 
charming drives and promenades, which on days of festival and 
summer evenings are crowded with people enjoying the delightful 
prospect they present, and the fresh balmy air. The Allee Verte, 
another agreeable spot, offers the attraction of three shady groves 
more than a mile long, running beside the Willebroeck canal as far 
as the village of Lacken, which contains one of the finest palaces in 
Belgium. In the summer season, this splendid edifice is the residence 
of his majesty; and it is natural to suppose, that the spot should be a. 
favourite one, as each window of the mansion looks out upon some 
smiling scene, which the most indifferent must contemplate with 
pleasure. Being in the immediate vicinity of the capital, every 
available point is either crowned with some pretty villa, or adorned 
with a bright patch of garden-ground; not a rood of soil is left' 
uncultivated or unbuilt on, and the intermingling of every variety of 
foliage, with the bright holiday aspect of the country-houses and 
distant villages, lend a charming character to the entire scene. 
Beautiful, however, as many of the environs of Brussels undoubtedly 
are, they are frequently disregarded or sink into minor importance, 
at least in the opinion of Englishmen, when compared with the all- 
absorbing interest of Waterloo. However adverse may be our 
feelings to the horrors of war,—however little the pleasure we may 
experience in the recital of deeds of arms, yet the name of the great 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


6attle fought in its vicinity, tlie knowledge of the good cause which 
animated the part we took in it, and, above all, the sentiment of pride 
which none of us can be so cold as not to be animated with when 
hearing of the noble achievements of our countrymen, all contribute 
to invest this spot with a feeling of such wondrous attraction, that 
we can scarce be an hour in Brussels without finding ourselves 
irresistibly drawn to the place where such great events were con¬ 
summated. The road thither is a very pleasant one; the village of 
Ixelles must be passed through, embosomed in its delightful vale, and 
surrounded by romantic walks; then appears the well-known forest 
of Soignies with its splendid trees, and as we emerge from its 
gloomy depths, we come directly upon Waterloo. A paved road 



runs across the plain, and a monument in commemoration of the 
fight rises on either side of it. As we turn from the inscriptions 
engraved upon them to the battle-field at our feet, long since 
returned to its more legitimate uses, we call to mind the various 
changes of that awful day, and the different episodes which marked 
its progress rush tumultuously upon our mind. Although the spots 











































BELGIUM. 


whereon they were acted are too distant to be clearly visible, our 
perception seems to have become clearer as we gaze around. There, 
we exclaim, is the farm of Mont St. Jean, the centre of the British 
line. \ onder, in the direction of Charleroi, lie the hamlet and farm of 
La Belle Alliance, where Wellington and Blucher met after the 
engagement. There must be La Haye Sainte, the seat of a carnage, 
which makes the soul shudder but to think on; and to the right of this 
memorable spot is Hougoumont, the farm-house, the possession of 
which was no less desperately contested. Thirty-eight years have 
fled since then, thirty-eight years of comparative peace purchased 
for Europe at the cost of that day’s carnage, and very few of those 
who fought in it are at present left to tell its horrors. The master 
spirits, too, who directed its movements, are now both as low as the 
humblest of their soldiery, one dying six years afterwards in exile, 
the other sinking to his rest but a few short months ago, and being 
conveyed to his tomb amid all the pomp and circumstance with 
which a grateful nation tried to express her sense of the irreparable 
loss she had sustained. 

The village of Waterloo contains little of attraction beyond its 
pretty church, with various tablets to the memory of some of the 
heroes who fell upon the plain. 

We turn from Brussels, the chief place of South Brabant, to the 
ancient capital of the old Duchy, Louvain. Many changes have 
come over this venerable city, since it was the seat of the powerful 
Dukes of Brabant, containing a population of one hundred thousand 
inhabitants, and boasting of four thousand establishments for the 
manufacture of woollen stuffs. The various fortunes that have 
attended its famous university, from its rise to its suppression and 
regeneration under another form, are worthy of investigation, as they 
make part of the history of various periods. Its library, museum, 
and botanical garden, are still in fine condition. But it is to its 
magnificent relics of Gothic architecture that Louvain owes its 
present interest. The Town-hall is truly a splendid structure, and 
is looked on by connoisseurs as a perfect specimen of its style. The 
church of St. Peter, another beautiful building, was at one time 
even more admired, for, up to 1604, it possessed a spire rising to the 
astonishing height of 533 feet* in that year, to the deep regret of 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


the inhabitants, it was blown down in a violent storm. Several 
manufactures are industriously carried on in the ancient city at the 
present day, and the beer of Louvain is highly esteemed. 

Malines (Mechlin), on our road to Antwerp, is a town which, 
some centuries ago, made a great figure in the political history of the 
time; but beyond its curious metropolitan church, and that interest 
which, as we have observed, attaches to all Belgian towns, it offers 
little to detain the traveller; its trade is now inconsiderable, but as 
it has been lately made the centre of the net-work of railroads laid 
down in the kingdom, it will, no doubt, in time regain some portion 
of its previous activity. 

Of all the cities of Belgium, there is not one more beautiful, 
or more rich in architectural monuments, in artistic and historical 
recollections, than Antwerp. Rising on the left bank of the river 
Scheldt, it presents from a distance the aspect of a great city; its 
lofty towers and spires, with the still loftier spire of the Cathedral, its 
fortifications, vast buildings, and spacious quays, the movement 
observable about it, with the numerous ships in its vicinity bearing 
the flags of most of the nations of the earth, serve to produce this 
impression; and when you draw nearer and enter the town,— when 
you observe the industry of the inhabitants, the prosperous appear¬ 
ance of the tradespeople and the activity displayed in every direction, 
mingled with the noble productions of artistic skill as visible in the 
grand edifices of antiquity around you, that impression is not likely 
to be obliterated. 

Built in 360, or thereabouts, alternately ravaged by the Romans 
and the Moors, it became, in the twelfth century, a place of con¬ 
siderable trade, and in the sixteenth was the first commercial city 
in the world. At the end of that period it fell into the hands of the 
Spaniards, and being abandoned by the wealthy merchants, its pros¬ 
perity declined, though it has now regained a large portion of its 
former advantages. In 1832 it sustained a siege from a numerous 
French army, and after the most obstinate defence was forced to 
capitulate. It has a fine harbour and extensive docks constructed by 
Napoleon, and considerable pains have been bestowed by his majesty 
of Belgium to render all things connected with the security of the 
city in accordance with its grandeur and ancient fame. 


BELGIUM. 


On directing our attention to the numerous edifices which adorn 
Antwerp, the Cathedral claims our first attention, and this not merely 
from its colossal proportions, though it is the most elevated building 
in Europe, but from its surpassing beauty, and the marvels of art 
contained within its walls. This church, dedicated to Notre Dame, 
was built in the fourteenth century and occupied eighty-four years 
in constructing. One hundred and twenty-five Gothic pillars, some 
of them 27 \ feet in circumference, support the wonderful edifice, and 
nothing can possibly exceed the beauty or boldness of the spire as it 
towers to so giddy a height above the surrounding buildings. The 
interior is no less remarkable for magnificence; numerous chapels, 
with beautiful specimens of Gothic tracery, are distributed about, and 
many of them contain pictures, whose worth is beyond all price; some 
of the master-pieces of Rubens adorn the altars of the favoured 
chapels, but the tomb of the great artist himself is erected in the 
church of St. James, which, with few exterior attractions, is 
considered to surpass all the other churches of the country in archi¬ 
tectural perfection. 

The Cathedral also enjoys the advantage of being seen in every 
direction uninterrupted by the masses of houses which in large cities 
are apt to creep round and disfigure the architecture of the finest 
buildings. It stands in the midst of the Place Yerte, a handsome 
square, originally forming the churchyard, but converted by the 
French into agreeable and shady promenades, with tall houses and 
a few cafes, that give an air of liveliness to the scene. 

The habits of the citizens of Old Flanders were so essentially 
commercial, and the wealth which poured into the country in former 
days was so great, that it is not surprising to find the buildings 
connected with their public meetings master-pieces of architecture, 
nor astonishing to observe them decorated with all the profuseness of 
ornamentation which distinguished the times when they were erected. 
The Exchange, which was built in 1583, is, therefore, a remarkable 
edifice, forming an oblong square two hundred feet long and one 
hundred and sixty in breadth; no fewer than fifty marble pillars, 
variously figured, support the upper floor. The Town Hall is no 
less interesting, and boasts some valuable pictures, and the entrepots 
are enormous warehouses where goods from all parts are housed and 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE, 

preserved. All the markets offer the most pleasing and picturesque 
views, from the animation of the various groups assembled in them, 
the diversity of costume displayed, and the curious relics of antiquity 



NO TEE DAME, BRUGES 


in the shape of some old church, or cross, or mansion, rising in the 
midst of the scene. We may observe, m passing, that Antwerp con¬ 
tains twenty-three public squares and more than two hundred streets. 

































































































































































































































































BELGIUM. 


If antiquity and former grandeur can recommend a place to 
the attention of after-ages, Bruges (West Flanders) may claim 
pre-eminent position under both titles. It had acquired the rank of 
a city as early as the seventh century, and in the middle of the 
thirteenth was an important mart. After that period it was on a 
par with Venice, and esteemed one of the first commercial cities in 
Europe. Its riches, however, by communicating to its inhabitants a 
too great love for luxury and a spirit but little disposed to brook the 
superior authority of its rulers, tended, in the end, to overthrow its 
mercantile position; and as one now traverses its streets the sense 
becomes oppressed with gloominess, communicated by the aspect of 
its departed greatness. It is cut up by canals, which are crossed by 
a vast number of stone and wooden bridges; and these huge water¬ 
ways are constantly navigated by handsome but heavy barges. The 
Exchange and Town Hall are both noble buildings in the florid 
Gothic style; the tower attached to the former, soaring high above 
the surrounding steeples, is esteemed one of the most remarkable in 
Europe. We must not omit to mention the beautiful church of 
Notre Dame, whose belfry serves as a landmark to mariners out at 
sea, for it contains some splendid tombs of bronze gilt, and an 
exquisite marble statue of the Virgin and Child by Michael 
Angelo. 

Ghent or Gant (East Flanders) is a city in every way interesting: 
its position, ancient fame, commerce, riches, and architectural beauty, 
render it most remarkable; and although greatly fallen from the 
splendour which distinguished it in the reign of Charles V., it is still 
a place which one hastens to with pleasure and leaves with regret. 
It is built on twenty-six islands, at the conflux of the rivers Lys, 
Lieve, and Scheldt, which are bordered with magnificent quays, and 
crossed by no fewer than seventy bridges of large size, and more than 
two hundred smaller ones. The broad streets possess some fine 
houses, many of which recall the days when the Spaniards held 
dominion in the country, and are still known by the name of 
“ Spanish houses.” The objects of architectural and antiquarian 
interest are the same in almost all the Flemish towns, and Ghent is 
not an exception to the rule. Its Town Hall, a curious mixture of 
the Grecian and Gothic styles—its wonderful Cathedral, rich in all 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


specimens of art—its other churches, each with its rare pictures or 
samples of sculpture, are alike astonishing, but are so crowded on 
each other that the mind experiences some difficulty in assigning 
these monuments to their own proper city, when recalling their 
beauties to the recollection. This confusion has become more evident 
now that each important place is connected with the net-work of 
railways traversing the country; for when a certain amount of time 
was requisite by the old “ diligence ” to enable the traveller to visit 
these venerable towns, he had at least leisure to digest, as it were, 
the intellectual treat afforded him by the sights he had left, ere he 
entered upon another repast; whilst in these modern days, when 
steam dashes him across the country, and in the space of a few short 
hours he finds displayed to his wondering attention so many marvels 
of art, his brain gets perplexed amid the crowd of objects, and it is 
long before he can recover from the feeling of stupor which his hasty 
journey has occasioned him. Ghent is well supplied with agreeable 
promenades, both the Place d’Armes and the banks of the Coupure 
canal being laid out for the purpose. Its Botanic Garden is the finest, 
perhaps, in the kingdom, and the environs of the city are pleasant 
and nicely cultivated. 

Tournay, the capital of Hainault and the residence of the kings 
of France before the reign of Clovis, is now one of the chief manu¬ 
facturing cities in Belgium, its hosiery goods being well known on 
the Continent. Oudenarde, in the same province, is memorable from 
its antiquity, having been a favourite seat of the Romans. 

The most picturesque scenery of Belgium is to be found, as we 
have already noticed, along the course of the charming river Meuse; 
the banks of which stream offering, in various instances, spots as 
romantic as the famed localities on the Rhine. This is particularly 
the case in the neighbourhood of Namur, where the river winds 
through precipitous banks, and runs past bold rocks that assume 
fantastic forms, requiring no vivid imagination to convert into 
crumbling castles and architectural fanes, over which a luxuriant 
vegetation, the growth of centuries, droops in the wildest fashion and 
waves with every shifting breeze; villages nestle in pleasant nooks 
at the foot of lofty hills, on climbing to the summit of which a 
glorious prospect is presented to the eye, the river being in various 


BELGIUM. 


places closed in by mountains, and assuming from that elevation the 
aspect of a peaceful lake. The situation of Namur itself is most 
romantic; two rivers, the Sarnbre and Meuse, meet at its gates, and 
a mountain rises on each side of the venerable city, which is men¬ 
tioned as far back as the times of Caesar, being alluded to in his 
“ Commentaries.” 

The same scenery, although more subdued in tone, accompanies 
ns on the route to Liege, the Meuse traversing the town and dividing 
it into a variety of islands, connected by bridges and adorned with 



BRIDGE OVER THE MEUSE, NEAR NAMUR. 


handsome quays. The ancient palace of the bishops will have no 
ordinary interest for all admirers of our great novelist, Walter Scott; 
and few will fail to remember the exciting scenes connected with this 
edifice as described in “ Quentin Durward.” The building contains 
two square courts, surrounded by galleries, with ranges of shops, the 
arched roofing being very beautiful, and showing fine effects of light 
and perspective. 

Ypres, which traces its origin from the tenth century and was a 
flourishing city in the thirteenth and fourteenth, on account of its 
extensive doth-manufactories, is still a place of consideiable tiade. 










































































THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 

The grand square or market-place, with an enormous Town Hall of 
Gothic architecture, and a marble fountain furnished by Louis XIV., 
is very imposing. 

The principal maritime city in Belgium and the second important 
commercial town of the kingdom, is Ostend, a place that has been 
subject to many variations of fortune. After the cities we have 
mentioned, it possesses but few objects of interest to detain the 
traveller, although, from its being the usual port of landing for 
passengers from England, it is pleasing at first sight, as presenting 
many of those peculiar features of quaintness which we have 
previously remarked as distinguishing all the Flemish towns. 

Belgium is more fortunate as respects climate than the sister- 
country of Holland. It is higher and more dry, less exposed to fogs, 
and suffering less from heat than many portions of that kingdom, 
where the humidity and sandy soil make the summers at times 
uncomfortably sultry; the changes which have, however, of late 
years come over the atmosphere of Europe, upsetting all our ordinary 
ideas of the peculiar features belonging to each season, have not 
failed to visit Belgium; and it becomes, at present, a matter of some 
difficulty to determine wdiat the actual climate of any country 
really is. 

In treating of Holland it was remarked, that so great was the 
political union between that kingdom and Belgium, that it became 
scarcely possible to separate their history. The early inhabitants 
bore several names, and as Frisians, Belgians, and Batavians, were 
known for their obstinate resistance to the Roman arms. At a later 
period we find commerce raising tne citizens to the most flourishing 
and independent condition, and observe them resisting, with wonder¬ 
ful courage and perseverance, the alternate attacks of Austria and 
Spain. The atrocious conduct of the latter power led to the over¬ 
throw of its dominion in the Low Countries; but for many painful 
years Belgium became the battle-field of the mieasy spirits of Europe, 
and alternately belonged to Austria and France. Holland and 
Belgium were subsequently united under the sway of Louis, the 
brother of Napoleon, but, on the ruin of the latter, Holland again 
returned to the sway of the family of Orange, whilst Belgium was 


BELGIUM. 


formed into a separate kingdom beneath the mild government of 
Leopold, the present king. The connexion between those countries 
was an unnatural one, as there existed neither sympathy, nor, for the 
most part, even a common language to bind the two nations together. 
It is true that, in the northern part of Belgium, the Flemish inhabi¬ 
tants, display some affinity to their neighbours, the Dutch; but, on 
the other hand, their religion and modes of life proved inseparable 
obstacles to their amalgamation; and in the South, where the 
Walloons form the population, the maimers and feelings are diame¬ 
trically opposite, being essentially French, whilst that idiom is the 
only tongue employed amongst them. 

The government is a constitutional monarchy, and greatly 
resembles that of Holland; there are two Chambers, the first of 
senators, the second of deputies. 

Every form of religious worship is freely tolerated in the 
kingdom, but the inhabitants are, with few exceptions, Roman 
Catholics. 

For the reasons we have above given, it is not surprising that 
French costumes should be paramount in this country, and every 
variation of fashion be strictly adhered to. The aspect of the wealth¬ 
ier inhabitants is perfectly French, and the appearance of the women 
of the lower class proves they are no less imitators of the modes of 
their southern neighbours; gay colours are in great request among 
them, and the infinite variety of caps and foulards setting off or 
concealing the hair, produces a marked difference to the English 
eye between the fair sex of Belgium and England, where the 
bonnet is so universal as to be worn equally by the beggar and the 
duchess. 

This little kingdom has lost none of its ancient fame for industry, 
and various branches of trade and manufacture are carried on with 
the greatest spirit. We need only mention the laces of Brussels, 
Bruges, Ghent, &c.; the linen cloths of Flanders and Brabant; the 
carpets of Tournay, for which Rubens, and even Raphael, made 
designs; the books and engravings of Brussels; with the iron and 
steel works and machinery of Namur and Liege, to prove the truth 
of the assertion. 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


In speaking of the trade of Belgium, it is impossible to avoid 
referring to a branch of commerce that has gradually grown into 
most colossal proportions; we refer to the immense increase in the 
book business, which, in Brussels particularly, has become very 
remarkable. Speaking the same language as France, and having 
no literature of its own, Belgium has reproduced in vast quantities 
the works of the French authors just issued from the press, and 
having to support none of the expenses attendant on the payment of 
the writers, has been able to inundate the markets of France and 
undersell the lawful proprietors, to their manifest loss and the no less 
injury to the authors themselves. This disgraceful trade has con¬ 
tinued for many years, and although the different governments of 
France have prohibited the introduction of such pirated works into 
the kingdom, they have still been smuggled there to a very large 
amount; and the Belgian booksellers, by every sort of dishonest 
practice, have endeavoured to pass off their illegal wares. Measures 
are being at last taken to put an end to this mischievous system; and 
it were greatly to be desired, that not only in Belgium, but in every 
other civilised country, proceedings so unworthy should be put a stop 
to for ever. 


* 


STATUE OF FREDERICK THE GREAT. 


PRUSSIA. 

We are now about to enter that group of kingdoms, principalities, 
and dukedoms, which occupy the centre of the European Continent, 
where one common language is spoken, but where the different 
countries which employ it display little of tnat feeling which coulci 
entitle them to the name of (e One Family.” \ ast changes have 
come over the world since the great German Empire extended from 
the Alps to the Baltic, and from Gaul to Russia. One of her fairest 


FFFF 





























































































































































THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 

portions, Poland, has disappeared from the map of Europe; and the 
remainder, divided and subdivided, appear to he ever on the watch 
lest a similar fate should attend themselves. Meanwhile the people, 
who do not, on the whole, amount to a greater number than the 
inhabitants of France, are parcelled out among some two dozen 
governments, each of which keeps up a show of state, and boasts its 
little army of soldiers and the expensive parade of a royal court. 

Three great divisions arrest our attention on directing our view 
to Germany,—the kingdom of Prussia, the empire of Austria, and the 
numerous states forming the Germanic Confederation. Among the 
latter there are some free cities, which we shall have occasion to 
describe in the course of our tour, but Prussia must now claim our 
notice. 

It is necessary to observe, in the first place, that the possessions 
forming this kingdom are actually not contiguous to each other, for, 
besides the little principality of Neufchatel and some isolated districts 
in Saxony, the country is composed of two large, distinct, and most 
unequal portions, to which we might give the names of Eastern and 
Western, as the former lies to the east of the River Weser, and the 
latter to the west of it. This separation is caused by the intervening 
properties of the noble houses of Brunswick, Hesse, Waldeck, Lippe, 
and Nassau. 

The Prussian dominions do not generally display any of the 
grander features of nature, nor can they boast of any particular 
variety of aspect. The country is, for the most part, level, and thick 
forests give a wild aspect to many a thinly-peopled region. There 
are beauties, however, bestowed upon some portions of this land, 
which, like those of Italy, have been a fatal dower and a source of 
riches to the people. We refer to the lovely banks of the Rhine and 
some of its tributaries. The misfortune to which we have alluded, 
as attached to the possession of such delightful spots, has sprung from 
the envy with which neighbouring countries have gazed upon this 
earthly paradise; the advantage has arisen from the attraction which 
travellers from all lands have experienced on visiting this beautiful 
river, and the prosperity which the yearly distribution of large sums 
of money by such means must naturally have bestowed on many of' 
the inhabitants. No spot on earth has been more visited, more 


PRUSSIA. 


described, more painted, and more loved than the banks of the Rhine. 
Artists from remote countries have fondly dwelt upon its varied 
beauties—antiquarians have hunted among its crumbling ruins—poets 
have worshipped its untiring loveliness—and the most prosaic have 
become poetical as they have gazed upon its features. No description 
can ever render to the mind a faithful portraiture of this charming 
river, where Nature seems to have employed her most winning graces 
to furnish forth the scene, and where the remnants of man’s dominion 
in their crumbling decay lend the enchantment of suggestion and 
history to heighten the effect. The infinite change, also, presented 
by each turn of the stream, keeps up the attraction; and as the 
traveller follows its course from Mayence to Cologne, between seventy 
and eighty English miles, no fewer than twenty cities greet him on 
his way. Then on each bold rock, whose base is laved by the rapid 
water, stands the ruin of some fortress or baronial tower, with birds 
for sole inhabitants, to which popular tradition ascribes tales of 
wonder or of bloodshed, or attaches a legend of the wildest and most 
fantastic character. Every rood of ground can boast its annals, 
every stone its story; and it is not surprising if the imagination 
should dwell with delight upon a river whose great natural beauties 
are thus heightened by such abundance of legendary lore. It may 
well be supposed that its attractions can be of no ordinary kind, 
when one of our greatest poets, on leaving its vicinity, thus expresses 
his feelings: — 


“ Adieu to thee again ! a vain adieu ! 

There can be no farewell to scene like thine, 

The mind is coloured by thy every hue; 

And if reluctantly the eyes resign 

Their cherished gaze upon thee, lovely Rhine, 

’Tis with the thankful glance of parting praise ; 
More mighty spots may rise—more glaring shine, 
But none unite in one attaching maze 
The brilliant, fair, and soft,—the glories of old days, 

“ The negligently grand, the fruitful bloom 
Of coming ripeness, the white city’s sheen, 

The rolling stream, the precipice’s gloom, 

The forest’s growth, and Gothic walls between 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROrE. 

The wild rocks shaped as they had turrets been 
In mockery of man’s art; and these withal 
A race of faces happy as the scene, 

Whose fertile bounties here extend to all, 

Still springing o’er thy banks, though empires near them fall” 

Berlin, the capital of Prussia, stands in the midst of a sandy 
plain, and on the banks of the little river Spree. Though its 
environs are flat and unpicturesque, the city of itself is a very fine 
one, and the new portion, called the ISTeustadt, may rank with the 
finest capitals of Europe. This was the work of Frederick the Great; 
and the regularity and breadth of the streets, many of them planted 
with trees, the magnificence of the houses, and brilliancy of the shops, 
of late years furnished with gas, prove the judgment and good taste 
displayed in the construction: the promenade, called Unter den 



DIE SCHLOSSBKUCKE, IN BERLIN. 

Linden (under the lindens) is really most remarkable; it is adorned 
with six rows of lime-trees, forming the centre of the street, with 


























































































































puussia. 


carriage-roads on each side, and handsome lines of granite posts 
connected by bars of iron to defend foot-passengers from the passing 
vehicles. The Opera-house, and Palace, truly a royal structure, are 
seen at one extremity of the walk, and the celebrated gate of Bran¬ 
denburg, designed from the Propylseum of Athens, rises full of beauty 
at the other; a column, surmounted by a colossal iron statue, erected, 
to the memory of the great Frederick, has been recently raised near 
the latter building. In addition to this handsome street, there are 
others not less regularly laid down, and the city possesses besides 
about two dozen places, many of which are ornamented with statues. 
An infinite number of palaces, churches, and other public edifices, 
adorn various parts of the capital, the mere mention of which would 
fill some pages; but we must not fail to remark on the advantages 
which the Berlinese derive from the possession of no fewer than thirty 
public libraries, most of them well furnished, and one or two, the Royal 
Library particularly, of the very first order. Buildings adapted for 
instruction and amusement are very abundant; the former partake, 
in a large degree, of a military character, for they owe their origin 
chiefly to the warrior king, who did so much for his country; and 
the latter display a taste very congenial to our own, for flowers and 
music seem to hold great sway over them. There are four winter 
gardens, which become in the cold season the resort of the best 
Berlin society, and they are, in truth, very handsome ornaments. 
Vast greenhouses deliciously heated, furnished with blooming orange- 
trees, myrtles, and other exotic plants; tables spread among the 
foliage for refreshments, and which are covered with newspapers and 
pamphlets; billiard-rooms, an orchestra, lectures, and sometimes even 
plays performed, make up no ordinary places of interest; and when 
at night the gardens are illuminated and the brilliant lights are 
reflected from the glass and broad leaves of foreign plants, and fall 
upon the gay dresses of the ladies as they promenade to and fro, or 
stand in animated groups amid the endless variety of shrubs, the 
effect is not easy to describe. Exhibitions of fruits and flowers are 
of amiual occurrence, and the Botanical Garden can vie with the 
finest on the Continent. Interest of another kind attaches to the 
Egyptian Museum, formed by the purchase of the handsome collec¬ 
tions of General Minutoli and M. Passalacqua; the latter very rich 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 

in objects relating to the religious, civil, and funeral customs of the 
ancient Egyptians, in furniture and utensils of every kind, and, above 
all, remarkable for a group of articles discovered in a sepulchral 
chamber into which that young traveller was the first to penetrate. 
There is a tomb, which is, without contradiction, one of the most 
interesting archaeological discoveries of our days; it is composed of 
three large wooden coffins, placed one within the other, the last 
containing the mummy of a high-priest. Two boats of sycamore- 
wood, painted and carved, furnished with all requisites and sur¬ 
mounted by little figures, which were found in the sepulchral vault, 
are of the greatest significance, as giving us a positive idea of the 
most ancient navigation of the Nile, concerning which we had, up to 
that time, only transcripts of too general a nature, or the paintings 
and bas-reliefs on ancient manuscripts and monuments, which left a 
wide field for conjecture; these are valuable models, which point out 
to us with fidelity the minutest details relating to the ceremonies in 
use among the Egyptians in a funeral cortege on the Nile, as well 
as the form of the boats used for navigation on that river three 
thousand years ago, with the means used for propelling and steer¬ 
ing them. Indeed, the Berlin Museum holds, perhaps, the first 
rank in its choice of objects relating to the customs of the people of 
Egypt. 

After the charming spots we have described, as presented by the 
environs of capital cities, Berlin can boast of little that is either 
beautiful or picturesque. Seated in a plain and surrounded by sand, 
it is deprived of those advantages with which a more genial soil and 
more uneven ground would furnish it. The drive of Thiergarten is 
pretty in the summer months, and the Exercier Platz attracts many 
spectators on gala days, as it is a kind of Champ de Mars or exercising 
ground for the military. The wealthy burghers have some neat 
villas at the little village of Stralau; and as the river Spree runs 
through it, crowds of people flock thither in the autumn to enjoy the 
pastime of fishing, which is carried on to a great extent. At Tegel, 
a village still farther removed from the capital, the celebrated Barons 
Humboldt have a fine country-seat. 

Potsdam on the Havel, a tributary of the Elbe, is the second 
royal residence, and holds the same position to the capital as 


PRUSSIA. 


Versailles does to Paris, for its houses have an imposing appearance, 
its public establishments are numerous and on a large scale, and its 
palaces are truly magnificent. The Chateau of Sans-souci, the 
favourite dwelling of Frederick the Great, is in the immediate 
vicinity of the town, and with the new palace and the palace of 
marble, makes a splendid spectacle, well worthy the attention of 
travellers. In the last-mentioned, considered as the most beautiful, 
there is a large hall set off with every variety of shell—an enormous 
and tasteful grotto. We must not omit to mention the pleasant little 
Pfauen Insel, or Isle of Peacocks, which is notable for its fine royal 
mansion, the favourite sojourn of the late Queen Louise ; the borders 
of the lake wherein this island is placed are really delightful; and the 
whole place may be looked on as a true oasis in the midst of the 
sands of La Marche. 

Frankfort on the Oder is a fine city, though of moderate extent. 
Its industry and flourishing trade are favoured by three annual fairs, 
to which merchants from all parts flock with merchandise, and by 
the canals which connect the Oder with the Vistula and Elbe. 
Among many valuable institutions it reckons a handsome bathing 
establishment, erected near the mineral spring discovered in 1821. 
There are many small towns and villages in the neighbourhood both 
of Frankfort and Potsdam, which, though offering no great attraction 
to the general traveller, are full of interest for particular classes, as 
displaying many branches of industry in full operation. There are 
copper, zinc, and brass works; there are manufactories of cloth; at 
a place called Freienwalde there are important alum-works, and 
establishments for all branches of education abound. This arises 
from the watchful care bestowed by the Prussian government upon 
the subject of instruction, compelling its people, under heavy penalties, ' 
to send their children to school, that they may at least learn how to 
read and write; these elements of knowledge are now so universal 
that it would be difficult to find a young person, however poor in 
circumstances, unacquainted with them in this country. 

Stettin claims our first attention on entering Pomerania, of which 
it is the capital; it is a pretty, fortified town, but although ranking 
among the first maritime places of the kingdom, it is at some distance 


THE RICHMONDS 5 TOUR THROUGH EUROPE 


from the sea, being built on the Oder, a little above its mouth. The 
town of Svvinemiinde on the isle of Usedom is its port, a bustling 
place, much frequented in the bathing months, when it presents an 
animated and even fashionable appearance. Stettin has one or two 
fine edifices, with several schools and a public library. 

The only other town of importance in the province is Stralsund, 
an industrious and commercial place, which carries on a regular inter¬ 
course with Sweden by means of steam-boats. Its port and dock¬ 
yards show a considerable amount of activity, and, being prettily 
situated, with convenient sea-baths, it is the regular resort in the 
summer of the gentry residing in the neighbourhood. 

Directing our course to the south, we enter the important pro¬ 
vince of Silesia, which possesses several mines of coal, one or two of 
arsenic, and some flourishing manufactories of linen cloths. The 
capital, Breslau, is the great mart for their use and exportation, and 
is, moreover, a handsome and prosperous town, situated at the con¬ 
fluence of the Ohlau and Oder. Besides the edifices devoted to com¬ 
mercial purposes, it possesses many scientific and literary establish¬ 
ments : the university, with a rich library, the museum, observatory, 
and botanical garden, are all worthy of notice; and there are many 
seminaries and schools for national instruction. The churches of 
Breslau are remarkable, particularly the Cathedral, from the bold 
and simple character of its Gothic architecture, whilst the church 
of St. Elizabeth boasts a tower of gigantic height, with a bell of 
colossal proportions. This town enjoys the official title of “third” 
capital of the monarchy; it is, in fact, the second in every respect; 
and its population is beyond a hundred thousand souls. 

Passing over Liegnitz and Glogau, though both important towns, 
we w r ould call attention to the glass fabrics carried on in the province, 
those of Schreibergschau being highly worthy of attention. The 
environs, also, of this extensive village are distinguished for the beauty 
of their scenery. An elevated rock called Rabenstein, the cascade of 
Zacken, and an enormous mass of stone named the Quekerschaale, 
are natural curiosities; the latter, although weighing nearly twenty 
tons, has remained motionless for centuries on a base scarcely two 
feet square. 


PRUSSIA. 


A melancholy interest attaches to the Grand Duchy of Posen, a» 
it formed part of the old kingdom of Poland. Its present capital, of 
the same name (in German, Poznan), was the chief city of Great 
Poland, and is now a bustling place with three annual fairs, hut 
contains little beyond its historic memory to attract the general 
observer. The town of Gnesen, at no great distance from it, enjoys 
the reputation of the most ancient place in all Poland, and merits, 
besides, the title of one of the worst built in the Duchy. The fair held 
there is of great fame. 

On entering the vast province of Prussia its two fine seaports 
claim deserved attention, for naval matters are naturally of great 
importance in a district which possesses so large an extent of coast; 
these cities are Koenigsberg and Dantzic, both places of great trade, 
which is yearly on the increase. 

Koenigsberg is near the mouth of the Pregel, and is well and 
regularly built, many of the houses being erected upon piles. A 
celebrated observatory, numerous schools, and an extensive arsenal, 
are among its notabilities. Its commerce is considerable, but owing 
to the shallowness of the water, many vessels can approach it no 
nearer than its outer port, Pillau, situated upon a peninsula at the 
entrance of the enclosed bay, called Frisch-Haft, at the eastern 
extremity of which Koenigsberg is seated. To the north-east of that 
city lies the little town of Tilsit, a busy place, and almost the remotest 
of the kingdom. In 1807 a treaty of peace was signed there between 
France, Prussia, and Russia,—a treaty, alas! but too soon broken 
through. 

Dantzic is the other distinguished seaport, placed in a charming 
spot, adorned with wood and water picturesquely interwoven, near one 
of the mouths of the Vistula. The city itself is irregularly con¬ 
structed, and, like most of the former Polish towns, possesses little in 
the way of architecture to render it remarkable. It is, however, so 
conveniently situated that it has become the centre of the export 
trade of the country, and is esteemed the first maritime place of the 
Prussian monarchy, and one of its principal strongholds. The town 
of Marienburg contains a magnificent chateau lately restored, where 
the grand masters of the Teutonic Order formerly resided; and it 
Was at this place that Catharine I., then a simple peasant, fell into the 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 

hands of Prince Menzikoff, at whose table she was first seen by 
Peter the Great, her future consort. 

It frequently happens that the citizen of the world will reap 
more pleasure from a visit to a spot the industrial or political 
importance of which is infinitely below mediocrity, on account of 
the place having become hallowed by association with some great 
event or some noble name, than he could derive from the con¬ 
templation of other places in every respect superior. The town of 
Thorn on the Vistula is one of many such, for, although it is both 
bustling; and commercial, it would have but little to deserve notice 
were it not associated with the labours of Copernicus. Here was 
bom, in 1473, that celebrated astronomer—here in the retirement 
of a remote town and the enjoyment of a peaceful life, he pursued his 
studies and founded the true system of the world; for although he 
cannot lay claim to the first discovery of placing the sun in the 
centre of our system and supposing the earth and planets to revolve 
round it, as this great truth is due to Philolaus, a disciple of 
Pythagoras, who flourished two thousand years before, still, as the 
system was not generally adopted till demonstrated by the Polish 
philosopher, we must always look with reverence on the man, the 
power of whose genius induced the world to acknowledge so sublime 
a truth. He was interred in the most ancient church in Thorn, in 
the year 1543. 

We now enter the province of Saxony, the last of those lying in 
that great division of the kingdom which we have called the Eastern, 
from its being placed to the east of the river Weser, and from its 
singular isolation from the western portion. Magdeburg is its capital, 
and from its industry, antiquity, and strong fortifications, has points 
of interest for most travellers. It is seated on the Elbe, over 
which are thrown some fine bridges, and presents an imposing front 
with its enormous ramparts, citadel, and military establishments. 
From its being one of the strong places of Europe, it has more than 
once experienced the horrors of war, but we turn with pleasure from 
its iron walls to objects of a more peaceful and elevating nature. 
The Cathedral of Magdeburg is a magnificent structure from its 
extent, its architecture, and its two lofty towers, one of which contains, 
perhaps, the largest bell on the Continent. The town is well supplied 


PRUSSIA. 


with literary and scientific establishments, schools, and places of 
amusement. It was here that the first tournaments in Germany 
were appointed as early as the beginning of the tenth century; and 
the invention of the air-pump, to which the present age is so much 
indebted, is ascribed to Otto de Guerike, a consul of Magdeburg, 
about the year 1654. 

There are many towns and villages in the district, or government, 
as it is called, of Magdeburg, which are notable for their industry, 
and particularly for their salt-works, those of Schonebeck employing 
upwards of a thousand hands, and the neighbouring ones of Grossalza 
being scarcely less important. Indeed, the whole of the province 
displays a great amount of energy and intelligent labour; public 
establishments for different branches of education abound, and idleness 
seems completely banished from the soil. 

Several places, well known to fame, make us linger in the govern¬ 
ment of Merserburg, although its chief city of the same name is of 
small extent and scanty, population: the town of Halle on the 
Saale holds a much higher rank from its size, trade, oustling industry, 
and the number of its scientific and educational establishments. Its 
salt-mines are quite a study from the costume, language, and habits of 
the men employed therein, who are known by the name of Halloren. 
The university of Halle, with its museum, observatory, and rich 
collection of books, has been long renowned. Mining affairs generally 
occupy a great deal of the attention of the learned all over Germany, 
and this town boasts of an institution or school for the purpose where 
the different methods pursued are studied and the whole reduced to 
system. The celebrated Handel was born here in 1684. 

A host of popular traditions hang around the castle of Giebchen- 
stein, which is looked on as the most important royal domain in the 
kingdom; and every German student and lover of German literature 
turns with pleasure to Schulpforta, commonly called Pforta, as, 
though but a petty place, it vaunts a college, celebrated in a land 
where colleges are rife, within whose walls Wolf, Klopstock, and 
other great men, passed their earlier years in acquiring that know¬ 
ledge with which they have since charmed the world. Rosbach saw 
one of the brilliant victories of Frederick the Great, and Liitzen 
beheld the fall of Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden; whilst Eisleben 



THE RICHMONDS TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


and Wittemberg offer attractions of a directly opposite character. 
In the former Martin Luther first saw the light; in the latter, an 
important town on the Elbe, the Reformation was begun, the church 
of the chateau displaying the tombs of the great churchman and 
his friend Melancthon. A colossal statue in bronze stands in the 
market-place and commemorates the labours of the bold Reformer 

The peculiarity of many portions of the Germanic territory is 
that they are isolated from the general mass, and are surrounded by 
the possessions of neighbouring states. Thus Erfurth with its 
immediate dependencies is environed by lands belonging to the Grand 
Duke of Saxe-Weimar, the Duke of Saxe Coburg-Gotha, and the 
princes of the house of Schwarzenburg. The ancient tower of 
Erfurth is strongly built on the Gera, and, owing to its industry and 
trade, is a busy, active place. The Cathedral, or church dedicated to 
St. Mary, is remarkable for its architecture, its extent, and an 
elevated tower containing a colossal bell. Like most of the import¬ 
ant Prussian towns, it possesses several schools, literary and scientific 
institutions, a botanical garden, museum, and public library. In the 
late wars Erfurth is more than once alluded to, and the country 
round about it is now notable for its fertility and the intelligent 
way in which its fields are cultivated. Nordhausen, Miilhausen, and 
Heiligenstadt, are all flourishing little towns in the same govern¬ 
ment ; the vicinity of the last-mentioned is adorned with a cascade 
embellished by art, the river Seine leaping down from a considerable 
height amid some pretty scenery. 

The divisions of the country west of the river Weser are 
Westphalia and the Rhenish Provinces, abounding in interest and 
rich in fertility and beauty. Munster, the capital of Westphalia and 
of its government of the same name, is built on the Aa, at no great 
distance from the Ems, which waters the district. Although a place 
of considerable size and population it owes its attraction rather to its 
historical recollections than architectural or other interest. In the 
annals of Germany it has played a no inconsiderable part; it was in 
this city that the famous treaty, which put an end to the religious 
wars that thirty years had been waging with so much fury, was 
signed in 1648: the same compact serving also as a basis to the 
possessions and rights of the German princes. Several small places. 


rnussiA. 


buzzing hives of industry, are in this same division, but are not of 
sufficient importance to detain us on our way. 

The government of Minden has no towns of great extent, but 
many which are both interesting and picturesque. Minden itself on 
the Weser, over which there is a bold and handsome bridge of stone, 
is conveniently seated for trade and well fortified. At a short 
distance from it may be seen two mountains, called the Gate of 
Westphalia, and which bear the names of Jakobsberg or Jacob’s 
Mount and Wittekindsberg; on the summit of the latter is a tower; 
at its foot a stone obelisk is raised to perpetuate the memory of 
Wittekind. At Bielefeld in the same government, vast numbers of 
the pipes known as the ineerschaun or sea-scum, a carbonate of 
magnesia, are manufactured and exported all over Europe. A 
curious fact distinguishes Paderborn, which takes its name from a 
stream called the Pader, so rapid in its course that twenty paces from 
its fountain-head it has sufficient power to set several mills in 
motion;—this rivulet has its rise under the high altar of the 
Cathedral. Driburg has mineral waters and fine baths, which draw 
together a gay crowd in the summer season. 

In the government of Arensberg there are numberless towns and 
villages where manufactures of various kinds are carried on with 
much spirit. Articles for ornament and utility, of bronze, iron, and 
plated ware, are produced in incredible quantities, and the roads may, 
in different directions, be seen lined with work-shops, forges, and 
large buildings devoted to these branches of industry. Mines of coal 
are not wanting, so that steam is employed to advantage in extending 
and improving the means of these busy establishments. Salt-works 
and mineral waters are likewise found, nor is there a dearth of natural 
and other curiosities to entice the wayfarer from his road. Near the 
pretty town of Schwelm is a cavern called Klutert, which is of 
immense extent, with numerous galleries and intricate turns. Werl, 
with its salt-mine and supposed miraculous image of the Virgin, 
annually attracts its hundreds of pilgrims, who flock from all the 
country round to make their offerings at her shrine. 

The very name of the Rhenish Provinces calls up pictures of 
beauty to the mind, and will bring back to the recollections of many 
of our readers those pleasant days when they first embarked on 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EURORE. 


board the steamer at Rotterdam to explore the renowned districts 
which poets and painters had rendered so familiar, A railroad now 
dashes its hundreds of travellers at once across the greater part of the 
country, and time is such an object with the generality, that com¬ 
paratively few are now found to follow up the lovely river from its 
mouth, but prefer making its first acquaintance midway. Cologne, 



on the left bank of the Rhine, truly merits the title of capital of 
Western Prussia, as it actually is of the Rhenish Provinces; it is a 
great city, of venerable antiquity, well deserving close inspection; 
for although not remarkable for cleanliness or comfortable streets, it 
is so full of age, architectural wonders, and picturesque points of 
view, that none but the veriest utilitarian can fail to be charmed with 
a peep at its curiosities. It must be borne in mind, that Cologne was 
the Colonia Agrippina of the Romans, and was the chief city of 
Lower Rhenish Gaul. The Burghof of the present day is, per¬ 
chance, the spot where stood the ancient imperial palace of the 
Romans, wherein in later times resided the kings of the Franks. Its 
columns, its statues, its inscriptions, were scattered in the middle 
ages; some found their way to Ingelheim, where they served to 
adorn the palace of Charlemagne; others may still be seen at Aix- 
la-Chapelle, but far the larger number fell a prey to the destructive¬ 
ness of the Huns. The subterranean aqueduct, which was said to 





































PRUSSIA. 


extend from Cologne to Treves, and some few remnants of the piles 
of the bridge constructed by Constantine, visible at low water, are 
all which now tell of the former domination of the Romans. The 
wonderful Cathedral of this interesting city occupies the first rank 
among its curiosities; although still in an unfinished state,*—as is 
also, we may observe, the case with the majority of the Catholic 
churches throughout Italy,—it is one of the most magnificent monu¬ 
ments of the ancient German architecture. Within these last few 
years a discovery has been made of the original plans of its facade 
drawn in duplicate on parchment thirteen feet high! Its lofty arches 
supported by colossal pillars, the notable and costly tomb of the 
three kings, lately restored, its richly-painted glass, the table of the 
high altar, and the great bell, suspended within one of the towers, 
which, according to the original plans, were intended to be 500 feet 
in height, are among the most remarkable objects of this superb 
temple, that, in its enormous size, rises above the other edifices of the 
city. There are many other churches, which our space alone 
compels us to exclude mentioning. The Hotel de Ville, with its 
fine gateway and capacious hall, that frequently held the assembled 
members of the commercial confederation known under the name of 
Hanse, one of the preponderating powers of Europe in the middle 
ages; the new Exchange; the Palace of Justice; the ancient College 
of Jesuits, and a vast number of scientific establishments, colleges, and 
schools; some rich libraries and a superb museum, prove at once the 
importance and opulence of this fine city. But its position renders 
it no less remarkable in a military point of view, for, situated 
between Coblentz and Wesel, and at a place to which several means 
of communication tend, it becomes a central station for the Prussian 
armies when directed either towards the Netherlands or France. 
Cologne, however, has even worthier claims to notice in its varied 
industry; it is the centre of an immense manufacture of the spirit¬ 
uous water known under its name, of which no fewer than a million 
flasks or bottles are annually exported; its trade is flourishing, and 
its port being declared free has given immense impetus to its com- 


* Subscriptions are coming in from the Catholic world at this time to complete 
this noble structure. 


THE RICHMONDS TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


mercial activity. We have alluded to its historic fame and the great 
part it played in the earlier ages of civilisation ; and before quitting 
its walls we must not fail to remember a few of the many great 
names that are connected with its annals. It was here that Walter 
Lollard suffered death by fire, in the year 1322, at the hands of the 
Church of Rome; to such sad lengths does religious bigotry mislead! 
Here died Mary de Medicis, the wife of Henri IV. of France, in the 
greatest misery and distress; and in this city did the celebrated 
painter Rubens, he who was at once a painter, an architect, a 
scholar, a statesman, and a gentleman, first open his eyes to the 
world. 

Deutz, on the opposite side of the river, may be considered a 
suburb of Cologne, as it is comprised within the system of fortifica¬ 
tions of that city, with which a communication is kept up by means 
of a bridge of boats. 

Altenberg, with its fine church, lately restored, must not be 
passed over in silence; nor should we omit to mention the village of 
Roisdorf, in the neighbourhood of Briihl; as its mineral waters are 
much in vogue from their medicinal qualities. 

Bonn is the second town of the government, it is charmingly 
placed on the left bank of the Rhine, and derived much ancient 
importance from its being the residence of the Electors of Cologne. 
The chateau which they formerly occupied has been repaired at 
great expense, and now forms one of the most celebrated universities 
of Germany, to which are attached a fine library, a museum of 
Westphalian and Rhenish antiquities, and a collection of plaster 
counterparts of the finest statues in existence. Bonn also boasts a 
noble cathedral of the twelfth century, a mining institution, and 
numerous establishments for public instruction. It once, likewise, 
rejoiced in a celebrated school of music, and the art still flourishes 
there in full vigour. It was in this college that Beethoven, Salomon 
the great violinist, and other renowned masters, received their first 
education. 

The little town of Ziilpich, about eighteen miles from Bonn, is 
notable in ancient history as having been the site of the Tolbiac, near 
which Clovis, the king of the Franks, gained his famous battle over 
the Alemanni, a.d. 496. 


PRUSSIA. 


Most of the cities on the Rhine are so delightfully placed, that it 
becomes difficult to decide to which should be awarded the palm 
beauty. Diisseldorf, the chief place of the government, which bears 
the same name, is fairly entitled to contend for the prize, and can, 
moreover, bear closer inspection without forfeiting the impression its 
first appearance gives rise to. It is built at the meeting of the 
waters of the Diissel with the Rhine ; it was for nearly half a century 

the seat of the Elector Charles Theodore, and owes to that enliffiit- 

# 

ened prince the greater part of its embellishments. Among the chief 
ornaments of the city must be remarked the new Academy of Fine 
Arts, with its fine collections of pictures, stamps, and plasters; the 
ancient chateau; the colossal equestrian statue of the Elector Palatine 
William, and the handsome Neustadt Street. The whole of Germany 
is renowned for its passion for music, and Diisseldorf has more than 
once distinguished itself by the prominent position it has taken up in 
the cultivation of this humanising and intellectual pursuit. 

We have spoken of the beauty of this district; but it has attrac¬ 
tions as great to the reflecting mind in the persevering industry 
which meets the eye in every direction. If we take a range of some 
sixteen miles from Diisseldorf we find several important towns, which 
have sprung to their present eminence from this circumstance alone. 
It has been remarked, that in no part of Germany, over a surface of 
the same extent, can so much industry be displayed as exists in this 
portion of the country. More than twelve hundred manufacturers 
are here at work, and the value of their united labours has been 
estimated at 30 to 40 millions of crowns annually. This distinguished 
rank amid industrial districts is due to mines of iron, copper, lead, 
and coal; to the internal communication afforded by sundry streams; 
to the falls of water which put in motion a vast quantity of machinery 
at comparatively small expense; but still more to the energy of its 
laborious inhabitants, whose prosperity is bound up in the working 
and perfecting of iron and steel. The quantities of the material not 
coming up to the demand, a great deal is imported from Nassau. 
But the industry of the people does not stop at the moulding these 
metals into every fantastic shape, it equally extends to other objects. 
There are manufactories of wool; there are establishments for the 
bleaching of flax; there are cotton-factories, ribbon-factories, and 

0:GrG G 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


extensive doings in silk and lace; in fact, it may be said that the 
whole of this district is one vast workshop, whose business extends 
to the most distant regions. 

Elberfeld, situated in the beautiful valley of the Wipper, is an 
example of the importance which may be attained by a town where 
the inhabitants are energetically devoted to business. Towards the 
middle of the eighteenth century its name was scarcely known; in 
the nineteenth we find Elberfeld with a population amounting to 
upwards of 40,000 souls, become one of the most industrious, rich, 
and commercial towns of Germany. Cloths both of linen and wool, 
silk and cotton stuffs, laces, tapes, ribbons, buttons, stoves, and a 
multitude of other articles in iron ware, employ the major part of its 
numerous workpeople. A collection of pretty villages, depending on 
or surrounding the various factories, and which lie along the banks 
of the Wipper, extend from Elberfeld, and increase considerably the 
importance of the place. 

The government of Diisseldorf contains other towns which, from 
their beauty, antiquity, or trade, are deserving a passing visit. On the 
right bank of the Rhine, we perceive the fortifications of Wesel, and 
on the opposite shore Blucher’s Fort, a bridge of boats forming the 
communication between them. It was in Wesel the historian Rapin 
spent the last seventeen years of his life, composing his “ History of 
England.” Zanten, or Xanten, although now at some little distance 
from the Rhine, was once bathed by its waters. It is a place which 
bears numberless records of the past. The Romans made it a 
favourite retreat; and even now, in its neighbourhood, crumbling 
walls, sepulchral stones, urns, lamps, coins, and other remains, attest 
the residence of this tasteful people. The little town of Mors was 
another of their chosen spots, and in the history of Germany is 
classic ground. Cleves, which gave to Henry VIII. of England his 
fourth queen, Anne, is a pretty place, with its neat gardens, groves, 
and ornamental walks; and as we turn again to the Rhine, we ob¬ 
serve the ruins of the Fort of Schenk (Schenkenschanze), opposite 
which the Rhine makes its first biformation, the right branch taking 
the name of Old Rhine, whilst that on the left bears the appellation 
of the Wahal. The hydraulic works undertaken for the purpose of 
equalising this separation are highly important, for it may be said 


PRUSSIA. 


A 


that the physical existence of great part of Holland mainly depends 
upon their preservation. 

We remount the Rhine to visit the government of Coblentz, with 
all its poetic and historical associations. We have cursorily described 
the principal towns which adorn the borders of the river on either side 
between Cleves and this place, but towns are the smallest part of the 
charms of this lovely stream. The fertility of its banks—the wind¬ 
ing of the river—the abrupt elevation of some mound, with a castle 
or a ruin at its summit — the majestic sweep of a lofty hill or 
mountain, with a village at its base, scattered houses intermixed with 
crags and trees perched in delightful confusion halfway up, and the 
lioary walls of some once famous stronghold crowning the whole— 
these are the prominent features of the panorama that meet the tra¬ 
veller’s eye, but which, although singularly beautiful, are not by 
any means the limits of the attraction to which it can lay claim. It 
must be borne in mind, that each ruin which now harmonises so ex¬ 
quisitely with the surrounding scenery can boast its annals — that 
each wooded dell has been the stage of some strange legend of 
human passion or superstition—that every cross and monumental 
stone speaks of some deed committed in the past, a wild tale at best, 
but rendered infinitely wilder by our love of the marvellous—in 
fine, that the whole of these beautiful districts, watered by this noble 
stream, are as rich in traditionary tales and historical memories as the 
land is teeming with natural charms and blessed with fruitfulness. 
We have only to remember that the country has been the favoured 
resort of Franks, Alemanni, Romans, and most of the modern nations 
of Europe, to account for many of its monuments and the mixed 
character of its legendary lore. 

Coblentz is in the very heart of all this beauty; it is built at the 
confluence of the Rhine with the Moselle, and possesses a fine bridge 
over the latter. Several public buildings of some importance adorn 
the city, and the grandeur of its defences cannot escape the attention 
of the least observant. Ehrenbreitstein, a famous fortress on the 
opposite shore, with a village at its foot, forms a portion of the superb 
fortifications which have excited the wonder of connoisseurs, for their 
object has been admirably carried out of making Coblentz the bul¬ 
wark of Germany and the Prussian monarchy in the direction of 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 

Franco, and proving an entrenched camp capable of containing on© 
hundred thousand men. To those who have no taste for military 
matters, the picturesque situation of Ehrenbreitstein has many charms, 



and few spots are more singularly lovely than the broad flowing river, 
the variegated banks, the quaint boats, the village, the mount, and 
the lofty towers, when bathed in the rich and glowing atmosphere of 
a summer sunset. 

Amid the numerous notable places in this government, we must 
not omit the little town of Neuwied, so remarkable for its collection 
of Roman antiquities, due to the labours of Prince Maximilian of 
Neuwied. It is garnered in a large building annexed to his palace, 
and from the treasures, consisting solely of relics of the great Roman 
people found in Germany, is peculiarly valuable. The most singular 
portion is that bearing on the ordinary purposes of life, for few can 
fail to be interested with a sight of the domestic appliances of a nation 
so renowned at so remote a period, when they stood foremost in the 
march of civilisation. 

Andernach was another station of the Romans, where some im¬ 
portant ruins still attest their former presence; this was the port also 
whence, some years ago, were launched the stupendous rafts which 
alone gave a peculiar character to the Rhine. The timber felled in 










































































PRUSSIA. 


the forest was formed into a floating stage, of such dimensions that a 
temporary village, so to speak, was erected on it, inhabited by a large 
number of persons to navigate the huge ship; and thus prepared, after 
a solemn benediction, the raft was loosed from its moorings and shot 
down the stream to the sea, where it was broken up, and the timber 
despatched to its destination. 

Laach is a little place on the banks of the lake of that name, but 
is remarkable for its abbey, a vast edifice, and the sheet of water 
itself which never freezes over; it is the crater of an extinct volcano, 
renowned in natural science for the learned researches of Humboldt, 
Forster, Deluc, and others. 

Kreuznach on the Nahe is a small town, with a few public esta¬ 
blishments for instruction, and some important salt-works. In its 
vicinity are the foundations of a Roman camp, usually styled the 
“wall of the Pagans,” and at a greater distance the ruins of the 
castle of Rheingrafenstein, notable for the singular boldness of its 
style, which renders it a romantic object in the landscape. Within 
some few miles to the north rises, on the banks of the Rhine, the 
chateau of Vogtsberg, purchased by Prince Frederick of Prussia, and 
restored at a great expense in the ancient style. Everything which 
could be rendered useful has been preserved, and the new buildings 
have been made to harmonise with the old throughout every portion 
of the edifice. The result has been every way satisfactory. It re¬ 
quires but little imagination to transport one’s self back to the middle 
ages, when traversing those antique saloons, where the sunlight, as it 
shines through the heavy casements, falls in strange shapes and richly- 
coloured tints on the chequered floor,— or when gazing on the superb 
arrangements executed in the style of a period long departed,—or 
when examining the singular collection of antiquities which the 
eternal river has contributed from its classic banks. This building 
may be considered one of the most interesting curiosities of the 
country. 

Town after town presents itself to our attention as we continue 
our progress, and, although many are unimportant as regards their 
size and population, deserve mention, and repay the trouble of a visit. 
Ober-Wesel on the Rhine has an ancient church and large slate quar¬ 
ries, amid which is found the famous echo of Lurley, that repeats 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


fifteen times the voice of the passer-by. Mines of copper and lead 
and extensive quarries of slate are worked in the neighbourhood 
of Trarbach, on the Moselle; and at no great distance are visible the 
traces of the Roman road which led from the city of Treves to the 
Rhine. All the governments of the Rhenish provinces are beautiful 
and interesting, and that of Treves not only occupies a foremost place 
from the possession of these claims to notice, but is at the same time 
the most classic ground in Prussia. Its chief place, Treves, the city, 
is, with Soleure in Switzerland, one of the most ancient cities of Eu¬ 
rope; for when the Romans advanced upon the Rhine, Treves was 
already a city adorned with fine buildings, and her citizens had 
attained a certain amount of civilisation. Its importance induced the 
Romans to convert it into the capital of First Belgium, and their 
emperors often made it their residence. The Roman laws were ad¬ 
ministered at Treves; the imperial coins were struck there; the 
famous legions were clad in raiment woven in that city; and her 
manufactories furnished them with arms. She boasted a school 
where celebrated Romans taught, and civilisation and all the know¬ 
ledge of the time were so wide spread and cultivated that Treves be¬ 
came the rival of the Imperial City. Traces of the Roman domination 
are still plainly visible, in spite of the destruction which has swept 
over them since the fifth century, and in spite, too, of the heap of 
interesting relics which have been stolen from it, both at the period 
of its fall and later, under Charlemagne. It would be vain to attempt 
a description of the numerous objects which deserve minute exami¬ 
nation hi and about the city. The ancient Cathedral, with its mixed 
Roman and Byzantine architecture — the church of Notre Dame, a 
splendid monument in the German style — the Black Gate, a build¬ 
ing said to be Gallo-Belgic, are each and all most curious. Indeed, 
what renders the study of the buildings of this place so peculiarly 
instructive is, that almost every style, of every century finds its 
representative, from the first attempts of the early inhabitants of 
Gaul to the redundant ornamentation of the later periods. Among 
the Roman remains there is the amphitheatre in good preservation, 
although the circus, of which St. Augustin makes mention in his 
“ Confessions,” has disappeared; the aqueduct, the palace of Con¬ 
stantine, the Thermes, and a semi-circular tower, are still existing 



PRUSSIA. 


Treves is built on the Moselle, over which there is a bold bridge of 
eight arches, ascribed by some to the Gallo-Belgic, by others to the 
Roman period. Its peculiarity consists in that it is constructed of 
lava-stone in large blocks, mortised together without cement. The 
city library boasts the possession of some valuable antiquities; among 
its other curiosities there is the Codex Aurus of the Gospel, written in 
letters of gold on parchment. It was presented by Ada, the sister of 
Charlemagne, to the convent of St. Maximin. Various literary and 
scientific establishments are in flourishing condition. As if to render 
this city still more enticing, it is surrounded by the most charming 
scenery that ever delighted the eye of man. Hill after hill, each a 
picture, presents some fresh matter for interest; and, indeed, many 
of these spots recall forcibly to the mind the peculiar features and 
landscapes of Switzerland. 

The last city to which we would direct a tourist’s attention, 
before quitting Prussia, is one which truly merits it from the vener¬ 
able antiquity to which it can lay claim: this is Aix-la-Chapelle, 
called Aachen by the Germans, and known as Aquisgranum in 
the days of Rome. In historical remembrances it is one of the 
most interesting places in Europe, and the most ancient residence 
of the monarchy of the Franks. The second capital of the em¬ 
pire of Charlemagne, that monarch and his successors granted it 
numerous privileges. From the Emperor Louis I. up to the reign of 
Ferdinand L, in 1558, thirty-six kings and ten queens had been 
crowned at Aix-la-Chapelle, seventeen diets had been held there, and 
no fewer than ten synods. The octagonal Munster, or Cathedral, 
built by Charlemagne, and which contains his tomb, is imposing from 
its severe character and considerable height. Among its other curi¬ 
osities are the royal chair of stone, used in the coronation of many of 
the emperors, and “ the grand relics,” only exhibited at intervals of 
seven years’ duration. In former times, when this ceremony was 
performed, thousands of eager pilgrims thronged to the spectacle from 
the most distant parts of Europe. We learn from the chronicles of 
the city that, in the year 1496, there were assembled on one day 
142,000 devotees, and at the conclusion of the solemnity the contri¬ 
butions amounted to the sum of 80,000 gold florins, an enormous 
sum when we bear in mind the period of its collection. Although 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 

sucli golden days are departed and such favours no longer flow so 
abundantly into the coffers of the Church, still the numbers of pilgrims 
and persons attracted by curiosity are even great in these days, and 
the septennial exhibition draws many thousands together. A crowd 
of fine buildings tend to give an imposing air to this city, and most 
of the modern public edifices, constructed of stone, have considerable 
pretensions to architectural beauty. The celebrated congress which 
concluded the treaty of peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, in 1748, was held 
in a large hall on the third floor of the Hotel de Ville; and it w T as in 
the same place that the King of Prussia gave, in 1818, a feast to the 
monarchs assembled in that city. Her baths, her various manufac¬ 
tories, her mineral waters, are all celebrated; nor must we forget, as 
most worthy of attentive consideration, the fine building of the new 
theatre, and the magnificent fountain which adorns the Great Market- 
Place,—the basin of the latter, which is in copper, is of enormous 
size, and is ornamented with a bronze statue of Charlemagne. We 
must not omit to mention a suburb of Aix-la-Chapelle, called 
Burscheid, formerly a distinct town, as it contains some remark¬ 
able hot springs. Those called the “ superior or upper” produce hot 
water in such large quantities, that, united, they form a considerable 
stream, which, at two miles’ distance, widens into a sheet of water 
called the “ Hot Pond,” and which, nevertheless, contains a good deal 
of fish. 

The intimate connexion between Neufchatel and the Swiss Con¬ 
federation attaching it rather to that country than to the kingdom of 
Prussia, we forbear making further mention of that little canton until 
we visit Switzerland. 

On taking our leave of the Prussian towns, we cannot help 
remarking that a few years will do more in changing some of their 
features than centuries have hitherto effected. The appliances of 
modern science in the shape of gas, the distribution of water and 
other minor matters have been already brought into the large 
cities and will by degrees be extended to the less important ones. 
Such changes cannot fail to be beneficial both to the health and 
comfort of the inhabitants, and although mere picturesqueness may 
in some instances be sacrificed, the advantages obtained will more 
than compensate for such a loss. 


rnussiA. 


The climate of a country of any extent values so materially in 
different provinces from peculiarities of surface, that it would be dif¬ 
ficult to find one with the same temperature even in those portions 
lying in the same meridian. Climate also changes with the progress 
of cultivation, and as countries are better drained and cleared of 
forests, the atmosphere naturally becomes drier and more healthy. 
Both these circumstances operate in Prussia, and its climate is there¬ 
fore various, and is better than it was some centuries ago; the win¬ 
ters are less severe and rainy, and the soil is now fertile enough to 
produce sufficient grain of various kinds, not only for all the uses of 
the kingdom, but for the purposes of foreign trade, large quantities 
being annually exported. 

As regards the zoology of Prussia, the same may be said as there 
has been occasion to remark of the other civilised countries of Europe 
we have as yet visited: the clearing of land, the steady march of 
population, and the noisy whirl of machinery, soon drive before them 
all animals whose habits are not domestic, or are alien to man; the 
household pig takes the place of the wild boar, and the honest dog 
of the prowling wolf; and although neither animal has entirely dis¬ 
appeared from the country, they are both too familiar to require 
more than a passing mention. 

The history of Prussia, properly so called, is of comparatively 
modern date. It has been raised to its present high position from an 
obscure fief of the kingdom of Poland; and as we trace the rapid steps 
which led to its advancement, we cannot withhold our wonder at the 
genius which produced such results, though we may not admire the 
modes by which they were attained. In the early times of Germany 
this country was possessed by a tribe of pagan barbarians, who had 
migrated hither from Asia, and seem to have been derived from a 
similar stock to those who overran the other parts of Germany as 
well as Plolland, Denmark, and Scandinavia; the great affinity of 
language being strong evidence in favour of the opinion. The pagans 
being defeated by the Teutonic knights, the land was held by them 
and their descendants for more than three hundred years, for such 
was their military conduct, that, in spite of all the wars and revolu¬ 
tions going on around them, they succeeded in maintaining their 
ground. It was at the beginning of the sixteenth century that 


TUB HICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE, 


Albert, Margrave of Brandenburg and Grand Master of the Teutonic 
Order, having embraced the Reformed religion and become a rigid 
Protestant, resolved, in concert with Sigismond I. of Poland, his 
uncle, to endeavour to dispossess the knights of all the territory they 
still held; it being agreed between them, that if he succeeded, the 
land so acquired should be held as a fief of the kingdom of Po¬ 
land, with the title of duke. This scheme was entirely successful. 
Albert, having performed his part of the contract, took possession of 
his prize, which was thenceforth called Ducal Prussia, whilst the 
remaining portion of the territory, formerly in the hands of the 
knights, and wrested from them by Poland, was distinguished by the 
name of Royal Prussia. The Electors of Brandenburg having thus 
become Dukes of Prussia, these titles descended together till 1701 , 
when great services having been rendered to the Emperor Leopold, 
in the so-called War of Succession, by Frederick, the reigning duke, 
his duchy was raised to the dignity of a kingdom, and Frederick 
became the first King of Prussia. A few words concerning Frederick 
William, the father of the first monarch, cannot be out of place, as he 
prepared the way, by his influence and wisdom, to this important 
change. From his kindness of heart and untiring efforts to improve 
the condition of his people and country, he acquired the title of the 
Great Elector; and he was, moreover, the first prince who held his 
dukedom of Prussia as an independent state, and not as a fief of the 
kings of Poland, as his predecessors had done. When, by the per¬ 
secutions of Louis XIV. of France, the Protestants were compelled 
to abandon their homes and seek new ones in strange countries, the 
Great Elector, by his kindness and consideration, induced them to 
settle in various parts of his dominions; and very shortly after we 
find them in Brandenburg and Prussia commodiously established 
and pui suing diffeient branches of trade and industry. He pointed 
out to his son the advantages likely to arise from pursuing such a 
course of policy, which, while it benefited hundreds of their fellow- 
cieatuies, brought into the territory a fund of talent, knowledge, and 
taste, ceitain to produce in the end the most gratifying results. On 
the death of the Elector, Frederick did not fail to profit by his 
instructions and example; he encouraged the French refugees to 
settle in his dominions, and, when he was made king, bestowed on 


PRUSSIA. 


them privileges and immunities which rendered their position in their 
adopted land one of considerable comfort. New arts and manufac¬ 
tures sprang up in the kingdom of Prussia and the Electorate of 
Brandenburg; and we may trace to this cause the first impulse to 
some branches of industry and great improvement, with renewed 
activity in others. Many of the French manufacturers and artisans 
acquired wealth; they contributed greatly to the embellishment of 
Berlin by the construction of entire streets, and they naturally 
attained to that degree of consideration in the capital to which their 
riches and intelligence entitled them. 

With the death of Frederick I. in 1713 and the accession of 
Frederick William, his son, to the throne, a great change was visible 
at court, and shortly after throughout the country; for whereas the 
delight of the preceding monarch lay in the splendour and ease of a 
life of opulence, the ambition of his successor was to attain glory by 
military deeds, and to boast of possessing the finest army in Europe. 
Every means were taken to gratify this wish; the men who were 
considered most fitting for any military service were at once pressed 
for that object, and the king, by making companions of his officers 
and despising all the refinements of life, converted his dominions into 
one vast camp and all his subjects into soldiers. As this monarch 
was otherwise frugal in his expenses, and, indeed, a rigid economist 
even in his military transactions, he left at his decease an abundant 
treasury to his son Frederick, called the Great, and with it a highly 
disciplined army. Employment was found for both immediately after 
his accession. 

Charles VI., emperor of Austria, died in the same year that Fre¬ 
derick the Great was crowned, and although he had, some years before 
that event, induced several of the European sovereigns to admit a law 
which he had made, called the Pragmatic Sanction, for bequeathing 
his crown and extensive dominions to his eldest daughter, Maria 
Theresa, as he had no son, his death was scarcely known than pre¬ 
tenders to different parts of the territory sprang up, and all the evils 
which the Emperor had foreseen and wished to avoid came upon the 
country. Frederick the Great of Prussia became a claimant among 
others, and in the war which ensued he contrived to make himsel 
master of all Silesia. This important province was formally ceded to 


the richmoxds’ tour through Europe. 


the Prussian crown at the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1749, and in 
spite of the attempts of Maria Theresa in connexion with the Empress 
of Russia to recover it some time after, seven years’ war failed to 
wrest it from the Prussian dominion; much blood was shed, an 
infinite deal of misery was caused, Frederick the Great gained the 
highest military renown, and things remained as they were. The 
next great event which augmented the Prussian territory was one 
that still excites by turns the sympathy and indignation of many of 
the European nations: this was the partition of Poland and the con¬ 
sequent disappearance of that kingdom from the map of Europe as 
an independent state. That unfortunate country had been for a 
length of time sadly misgoverned. The feudal system in its worst 
form existed there in full force, and the natural consequence was, 
that, while many individual nobles held large possessions, the people 
had been growing yearly poorer. On the death of King Augustus III. 
great confusion prevailed about the choice of a successor, as each 
noble had a right to become a competitor for the crown. Russia, 
Austria, and Prussia interfered, and the merits of the candidates 
were respectively discussed. The Empress Catherine of Russia and 
the King of Prussia supported the pretensions of Count Stanislaus 
Poniatowski; Maria Theresa declared in favour of the son of the late 
king. The former was at last placed on the throne, in spite of all 
opposition; but, displeasing his protectors, and, of course, opposed by 
the partisans of his rival, Poland was converted into a dreadful scene 
of tumult and slaughter. It was under such circumstances, when 
weakened and divided, that the three great powers seized upon the 
kingdom for themselves. Resistance was hopeless; the new monarch 
was compelled to renounce the dignity so briefly held and so hardly 
fought for, and sign the act of partition, by which the sovereigns of 
Prussia, Austria, and Russia, unjustly added to their dominions por¬ 
tions of the fertile and extensive territory of Poland. 

Although these possessions were unjustly gained they were go¬ 
verned with liberality, the object of Frederick the Great being to 
induce his new subjects to look on him rather in the light of a friend 
than a despot. To repair the ravages of war and people the waste 
lands of Silesia, he granted privileges of every kind to the peasantry 
and artisans who chose to settle there; and as many industrious 


PRUSSIA. 


families had been deprived of their homes during hostilities, they 
eagerly embraced this opportunity of retrieving their fortunes. He 
promulgated various wise laws. In order to prevent the dreadful 
conflagrations to which the old towns were liable, all newly raised 
dwellings were constructed of stone; schools were established through¬ 
out the country, and teachers regularly trained were appointed to 
them; markets were set up and the days fixed for holding them; and 
many other regulations enforced which, although displaying arbitrary 
power, sufficiently prove that it was wielded by no ordinary hand. 
It was in 1786 that this monarch died, his memory stained by several 
acts of cruelty and injustice committed during his military career, 
but relieved by a thousand traits of kindliness, forethought, and 
attention to the happiness of his subjects. His successor was his 
nephew Frederick William II., a prince of moderate capacity, whose 
short reign—eleven years—was embittered by the wars which then 
broke out on the European Continent through the ambition of Napo¬ 
leon. He managed, nevertheless, to leave his dominions entire to 
his son Frederick William III., who attained his dignity in 1797, but 
was deprived of the greater part of it by Buonaparte during the suc¬ 
ceeding years of bloodshed. At the general peace, however, which 
followed the battle of Waterloo, the king of Prussia not only regained 
all the territory he had lost, but procured besides the addition of a 
considerable part of Saxony. It was in 1840 that the present mon¬ 
arch, Frederick William IV., succeeded his father in the possession 
of a kingdom which, as we have related, has, during the course of 
three centuries, grown from an insignificant dukedom into one of the 
most powerful states of the European Continent. 

The prevailing religion of Prussia is the Protestant in its two 
chief divisions of Calvinists and Lutherans; but the Roman Catholic 
faith is professed to a considerable extent. Fortunately, a liberal 
spirit of toleration has taken the place of the feeling that at different 
times has been displayed in Prussia, as in other countries, upon 
matters of religion, and which has led to such violent outbreaks. 

The political constitution of Prussia may be styled an absolute 
hereditary monarchy; but the monarchs who have at various periods 
been intrusted with the government have had sufficient wisdom to 
prevent the despotism, inherent in such a system, being oppressively 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 

felt, or, if the people have at times been disposed to revolt, a com¬ 
parison of their position with that of many of their neighbours has 
done much to reconcile them to their position. As a natural conse¬ 
quence of the situation of Prussia (between three powerful neigh¬ 
bours, Austria, France, and Russia) and the vigorous administration 
and institutions of her soldier-kings, a military character has been given 
to her institutions which is little in accordance with our own feelings; 
but reflection tells us that it was this very character which raised 
Prussia to her present eminence, and still retains her in it. A coun¬ 
try, like an individual, is all the safer from attack and insult when 
known to be fully prepared to resist one and resent the other. 

The language of Prussia is German; her literature belongs to 
that idiom as spoken by a variety of kingdoms and states, having 
nothing to distinguish it from the mass. 

Frederick the Great entertained so great a predilection for the 
language and manners of France, that it is not surprising if a similar 
taste should have prevailed among the higher classes, and have 
descended to their children. We have more than once had occasion 
to remark, that the costumes of people in the superior ranks of life, 
on the same continent, although in different countries, are certain to 
assume strong features of resemblance, and it is only among the 
peasantry of various districts that peculiarity of dress is visible. As 
Prussia is composed of the provinces of more than one country, thev 
naturally display various shades of difference in minute particulars; 
but they are not sufficiently marked to call for more precise descrip¬ 
tion. 

The soil of the Prussian dominions varies between fertility and 
barrenness. Many districts are sandy and little productive; in others 
large quantities of grain are raised, and there is fine pasturage for 
cattle. Tobacco sufficient for home consumption is grown in various 
parts of the kingdom, and as the people, like the other Germans, are 
great smokers, it may be credited that a good deal of land is thus 
employed. Prussian commerce, as divided into import and export 
business, has made a wonderful start during the late years of peace; 
the former, especially, has greatly improved since the institution of 
the “ Zollverein,” more particularly as regards colonial and manu¬ 
factured goods. The articles principally imported are: copper, raw 


PRUSSIA. 


sugar, spices, indigo, rice, drugs, and cotton, English manufactures 
and French fancy and silk wares: the imports of twist, iron, and 
coals, are also very important, for, notwithstanding the high duty on 
the first-mentioned, English twist is too valuable to be dispensed 
with; the same may be said of the other two articles, for, although 
both are found in Prussia, the former in Silesia and coals in the 
Rhenish provinces, still they are imported in great quantities. The 
use of raw sugar has greatly diminished since the establishment of 
beet-root sugar-refineries in Prussia, there being, in the eastern parts 
of the kingdom more especially, an abundance of them, producing in 
some years such large quantities as not only to cover the consump¬ 
tion, but even to have a surplus to dispose of to the other states of 
the (e Zollverein.” The import of cotton has augmented in the same 
proportion, as the manufactories wherein it is employed have increased 
both in number and importance. Notwithstanding the establishment 
of very extensive silk and velvet manufactories, particularly in the 
provinces of the Rhine, the French goods, to which we have alluded, 
are in great demand, for their superior finish; and the large quantities 
required for home consumption give them a ready sale. 

Prussia possesses, in our days, a large number of manufactories, 
especially on the Rhine. At Aix-la-Chapelle, Diirren, and Elberfeld, 
there are great cloth fabrics; in Cologne and Duisburg there are 
sugar-refineries; Elberfeld, Crefeld, and Barmen, boast their silk 
and velvet factories and dyeing establishments, and Creuznach its 
spirit distilleries. In the eastern provinces, principally in and near 
Konigsberg, there are many sugar and oil refineries; in Tilsit and 
Memel oil-refineries and saw-mills; in Stettin again, sugar-refineries 
and flour-mills. Berlin has the largest cotton manufactories, as well 
as others for woollen and half-woollen goods, porcelain manufactories 
and very extensive iron-foundries; Brauenberg has silk, and Luck- 
enwalde cloth fabrics; Magdeburg and Posen possess a large number 
of establishments for the refining of sugar and making of starch, 
whilst Silesia contains extensive spinning-factories and glass-works. 

A national banking establishment exists at Berlin, which has 
branches in every important town throughout the country, and 
by these means the business of merchants and tradesmen is greatly 
facilitated. 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE 


Art also lias received great encouragement during the reign of 
the present king. The splendid zinc casting of the Amazon, finely 



bronzed, the work of Mr. A. Kiss of Berlin, attracted great attention 
and praise from, every visitor to the Universal Exhibition, and would 
alone have been a proof of the present healthy state of art in the 
Prussian dominions: it obtained the Council medal from Jury 
XXX., and stood first on the list. No less than four Prize medals 
were also awarded to Prussian exhibitors under the same division; 
one, for designs of fountains, furnished by Mr. C. J. Boesche, and an 
exquisite model of Magdeburg Cathedral. Prussia likewise contri¬ 
buted many bronze groups, medals, and paintings on porcelain, which 
obtained “ honourable mention,” and show her taste in these branches. 































f •> 



VIENNA, FROM THE BELVEDERE. 


AUSTRIA. 

It is to the extensive empire of Austria that we have now to 
conduct our young readers; but in our description of that country 
we shall confine ourselves simply to those portions where the great 
German idiom is spoken, reserving for another place an accomit of 
the Austrian possessions in Italy. Shorn as the empire is of its 
ancient grandeur, it is still composed of large disjointed territory. 
Remnants of former kingdoms are yet dependent on the Imperial 
crown, although eagerly watching events in Europe in order to free 
themselves from the yoke of a severe master and establish their 
independence. Austria at this time boasts dominion over Austria 
Proper, part of the circle of Bavaria, Bohemia, Moravia, and part of 

HHHH 


































































THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


Upper Silesia; the Kingdom of Hungary, with the royal appendages 
of Slavonia and Croatia; the grand principality of Transylvania, 
with its military confines; the former Venetian possessions of 
Dalmatia and Albania, with the old republic of Ragusa; the King¬ 
dom of Gallicia in Poland, and the north-west part of Moldavia in 
European Turkey; whilst in Italy she rules over the whole of 
the territory forming the ancient republic of Venice; and over 
Lombardy, with the Duchy of Mantua. She, moreover, lays claim 
to fractions of the states of the Church and the Duchy of Parma, and 
has hereditary right to the Grand Duchy of Tuscany: indeed, her 
influence throughout Italy is as great as it is detested, and, by the 
policy she has pursued of late, she has succeeded in alienating from 
the cause many who should naturally be her allies. 

In a country so vast, stretching towards all points of the compass, 
there must, of course, be great diversity of feature in the aspect of 
nature. It may be called rather mountainous than level, and yet it 
possesses some extensive plains. Both Moravia and Bohemia are 
champaign countries, but are bounded by mountains which rise and 
fall on the horizon in beautiful irregularity. Hungary, again, 
whose northern limits are confined by the crescent-like ridge of the 
Carpathians, has such wide-spread plains that a traveller may 
pursue his journey for days without meeting the smallest elevation; 
and the remaining portions are diversified with hill and valley, wood 
and lake, frequently succeeding each other, and are often found 
combined in landscapes of great beauty, to which the lofty peaks of 
distant mountains afford an appropriate background. If Prussia 
vaunt the loveliness of the Rhine with all the historical records and 
associations that are attached to it, the Austrian points with pride 
to the majestic flow of the Danube, one of the noblest of European 
streams. This superb river has every claim to notice from its 
ancient fame, its length of course, and its importance to inland 
navigation and commerce. From its having been the celebrated 
boundary of the Roman empire, it is rich in world memories, and 
from its intrinsic beauty it was dear to former ages, and is equally so 
to Nature’s lovers in these modern days. This immense stream rises 
in Suabia, and waters portions of Austria throughout almost its 


AUSTRIA. 


<■ *- 


greatest length. The extent through which it is navigable is very 
great, and there is no doubt that if the same security were attached 
to its shores that belongs to the banks of the Rhine, the Danube 
would shortly become as favourite a spot with tourists; and the 
artist, the lover of the picturesque, the wealthy, and the intellectual, 
would linger among its attractions, and spend money on its course 
with the same zest and profusion as they have hitherto done in their 
visits to the former river. An important move in this direction has 
been the placing a large number of steamboats upon the most attrac¬ 
tive and populous parts of the stream, which, although small, are 
neatly fitted, and being furnished with English engines, are in very 
efficient condition. 

The boldest scenery in the Austrian territory is to be found 
among the Rhetian or Tyrolese Alps, so well known to antiquity. 
Like the Alps of Switzerland, they abound in peaks clad with eternal 
snow; glaciers like stormy seas converted suddenly to ice; and 
precipices of giddy depths, at whose foot flow brawling torrents 
which lend a voice to the sublimity of the scene. These Rhetian 
Alps are frequently termed the Brenner Mountains, so called from the 
fearful thunder-storms to which they are liable; the term <e Brenner” 
(burning) is derived from one of their number, which rises upwards 
of 5000 feet above the level of the sea. Many granite rocks of 
gigantic size are found in this splendid chain; one, the Gefroms, is 
an enormous mass of this material, and, being of immense height and 
covered with perpetual snow, is a prominent object among the 
neighbouring mountains. 

Vienna, in German Wien, is worthy to be the capital of an 
immense empire, although, perhaps, on no place in Europe have a few 
years made so immense a change. The original city, built on the 
right bank of the Danube, at the confluence of two little rivers, the 
Wien and Alster, was of very small dimensions, surrounded by a 
wall, and strongly fortified. It contained in 1827 only 1229 houses, 
generally of great height, and bordering narrow streets, neither 
convenient nor elegant, but tolerably clean and well paved. As the 
necessities of an increasing population became imperative, a new town 
sprang up without the walls constructed on well-digested plans, 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROTE. 

which laid down noble streets, erected handsome edifices, and added 
the charms of gardens to the more spacious and modern buildings. 
These enormous suburbs, composed of no fewer than thirty-four 
parishes, were finally comprised within the boundaries of the city, 
which thus offers the agreeable spectacle of ornamental gardens, and 
even cultivated fields, in the midst of bustling streets and the hum of 
an industrious population; although it is very evident that the 
increased value of ground is fast sweeping away the flowers and trees 
to plant houses in their stead. 

Among the numerous public buildings which adorn Vienna, the 
grandeur of the Burg, or Imperial Palace, is certain to command 
attention. It is an immense edifice of irregular construction, but 
offers to the view portions remarkable from their magnificence and the 
beauty of their architecture. It contains the Imperial Library, wfith 
its rich collection of volumes of the fifteenth century, many rare 
manuscripts, and a vast number of modern works; a court chapel; 
an imperial theatre; the former Chancery of the Empire; and a 
riding-school, this latter a master-piece of building. The Mint, 
the splendid palaces containing the Chancery offices of Austria, 
Bohemia, Hungary, and Transylvania; the University, the Academy 
of Eine Arts, the Observatory and the Hotel de Ville; the palace of 
the Archbishop; the imperial and city arsenals; the Bank and the 
Custom-house, are all fine structures, which we can only mention by 
name. Many private mansions are likewise notable in a list of 
Viennese edifices, as they are not only architecturally beautiful, but 
from their containing libraries, museums, and galleries of pictures 
open to the inspection of the public, they cannot be passed over 
in silence. Among these, the palaces of Princes Esterhazy and 
Batthyany, and Count Schonborn, though not the most beautiful, are 
in fine taste and greatly admired. 

Of the churches which adorn Vienna, five are particularly 
worthy of note. St. Stephen’s is a vast and beautiful Gothic edifice, 
with one of the loftiest towers in Europe; St. Peter’s, built after the 
model of the basilic of that name at Rome; the church of the 
Augustines, memorable from its extent and the possession of the 
mausoleum of the Archduchess Christina, the work of the immortal 


AUSTRIA. 


Canova, together with a chapel destined to preserve the hearts of 
the Imperial princes; the church of the Capuchins, whose immense 
vaults are used as the burial-place of the princes of the house 
of Austria; and, finally, that of St. Rupert, singular from its 
antiquity, having been founded in 740, and restored in 1436 and 
1703. 

Vienna boasts of no fewer than eighteen squares or places, many 
of which are adorned with statues and fountains; it is enriched with 
a crowd of institutions, academies, and schools, whose names alone 
would take up too much space, and could convey no satisfactory 
information; it possesses several galleries of pictures; public and 
private museums; and establishments for the cultivation of music; 
for which science the Austrians have the same learned taste as 
distinguishes the whole German family. No people in the world are 
fonder of amusement than the inhabitants of Vienna, and places of 
public diversion, therefore, abound. The peculiarity of construction 
of the city, together with the climate being favourable to out-door 
diversions, these are, perhaps, more studied in the capital of the 
empire than in any other part of Europe. There are coffee-houses 
and pleasure-gardens without end; theatres adapted for all classes of 
the community, some of them being truly magnificent, and public 
walks that are unsurpassed in attraction by any on the Continent. 
Among the latter, the most beautiful and renowned is the Prater, a 

o * 

natural forest of oak and beech-trees, on an island of the Danube; 
this superb promenade is visited in crowds, particularly in spring, 
where the rich display the pomp of their equipages as they drive 
about its long and broad avenues, and the good citizens, with their 
wives and families on foot, put forth on days of festival their gayest 
attire. As honest folk when they thus meet together must, of course, 
require food and drink, these necessaries are supplied by a host of 
cafis and restaurans; whilst the youngsters are, moreover, entertained 
with the delights of a panorama, an amphitheatre for gymnastic 
exercises, huge swings, roundabouts, and other popular games, and 
at night displays of fire-works. A swimming-school and riding 
circus are also among the attractions of this truly popular place of 
resort. The ramparts of the city are also much frequented, being 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE, 


planted with trees and adorned with pavilions and tasteful pleasure- 
houses; one of them particularly, the VolJcs-garten , a charming 
promenade, is generally crowded in the evening, and few can enter 
without a desire to see the beautiful statue of Theseus by Canova, 
placed in a temple near the imperial palace. The approach of winter 
is very far from putting an end to the out-door amusements of this 
pleasure-loving population. The severer the weather, the greater 
the height to which diversion is carried. The solid surface of the 

O 

Danube becomes then the centre of gaiety. Sledges in every variety 
of ingenious form, profusely gilded and otherwise adorned, dart over 
the resounding ice; skaters put forth all their art to attract the 
admiration of observant crowds, who loudly applaud some difficult 
feat, or laugh aloud at the mishap of some awkward tyro; whilst 
tents, with fluttering streamers for the sale of refreshments and hiring 
of skates, dot the extensive plain and give increased animation to the 
picture. 

It may he thought that, amidst all this rage for amusement, the 
more serious business of life is forgotten or neglected; but this is far 
from being the case. The Viennese are, certainly, most devoted to 
pleasure, but they are not inattentive to the pursuits of their various 
callings during the hours they are required to exercise them. Vienna, 
like London, Paris, Berlin, and other great European capitals, is the 
chief manufacturing place in the empire; its trade is immense, par¬ 
ticularly since the creation of the National Bank, whose astonishing 
prosperity is almost unexampled in the annals of such institutions. 
It was only created in 1818, and yet, in the short space of six years, 
the number of its shares had sprung from six thousand to upwards of 
fifty. Its credit has powerfully contributed to strengthen that of the 
state, and had, twenty years ago, acquired such solidity, that the 
value of its original shares was more than doubled. 

If we extend our view a little beyond the immediate neighbour¬ 
hood of the capital, we shall, within the space of a few miles, discover 
some other favourite places of public resort, fine chateaux, and pretty 
little towns surrounded by charming scenery and adorned with gar¬ 
dens. The palace of Schoenbrunn has been often described and ad¬ 
mired, and certainly the grandeur of the building and beauty of its 


AUSTRIA. 


botanical garden deserve all praise. The liot-liouses were, some 
years ago, looked upon as the first in Europe, before science had 
devoted its attention to the improvement of these attractive establish¬ 
ments. At a little greater distance from Vienna is the small town of 
Laxemburg, having at one extremity a palace where the Emperor 
generally passes a few weeks during the summer. This imperial 
residence offers little worthy of remark either as regards its architec¬ 
ture or extent, but travellers flock thither on account of the beauty 
of its park, a very noble one, and a singular Gothic structure raised 
in the centre of it. This miniature chateau is surrounded with moats 
and embattled walls, and, from the embellishments bestowed on it by a 
former Empress and the Emperor Francis I., has become one of the 
greatest curiosities of Germany. The arrangement of its suites of 
rooms, their furniture, their decoration, everything, in fact, about it, 
faithfully conveys the usages and customs of the middle ages. 

Still farther removed from the capital we meet with the town of 
Baden, a place which has been, of late years, rapidly growing in im¬ 
portance. This is due to its reputation as a bathing-place, it being, 
in the season, so much frequented as to double, and sometimes nearly 
treble, the number of its inhabitants. On these occasions, amuse¬ 
ments of every kind—some of them, indeed, of a ruinous character— 
are to be found in abundance; and the bathing establishment, which 
has been recently constructed, is then crowded with strangers from 
almost every part of Europe. It is in the neighbourhood of this little 
town that the magnificent palace of Weilburg is situated. It is quite 
a recent structure, having been built by the Archduke Charles: the 
richness and elegance of its hangings and furniture, its gardens, but, 
more than all, the loveliness of its environs, offering prospects of the 
most picturesque description, render this one of the finest pleasure 
mansions in Germany; the delicious Valley of St. Helen, which is 
among its numerous sites, becomes on Sundays and holidays the 
resort of all the fashionables of Baden. 

By increasing our circle of observation we find in a southerly 
direction the town of Neustadt, a very pretty place, with a large 
military school and a canal communicating with the capital. North¬ 
east from this is Eisenstadt, in Hungary, with a fine chateau of 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


Prince Esterhazy, and a magnificent botanical garden. Brack has 
spinning machines on the English principle, and possesses the hand¬ 
some mansion of the Count of Harrach, having also a botanical gar¬ 
den with splendid hot-houses. We have particularly mentioned these 
two latter places in order to call attention to the important feature of 
botanical gardens, by which the neighbourhood of Vienna is eminently 
distinguished. We are so accustomed in our own country to beautiful 
grounds attached to the seats of our wealthy proprietors, that we might, 
perhaps, pass over this subject as too familiar to excite observation, 
did we not remark the scarcity of such ornaments in and about the 
large capitals of the Continent. The possession of a little winter 
garden (jardin dhiver) by the Parisians is frequently a matter of 
boast by the less informed among them, and Berlin, with its four 
establishments, is looked upon as rich in this particular. Vienna, 
however, and its environs possess them without number; and some, 
indeed, belonging to private residences, can vie in magnificence with 
the handsomest in Europe. This advantage is due to the enlightened 
taste of the late Emperor and the Archdukes John, Charles, An¬ 
thony, and Rainier, on the subject of botany. They erected splendid 
conservatories near all their palaces and country-houses, and gave 
every kind of encouragement for the propagation of this species of 
knowledge. In imitation of them, a period of ten years saw created 
the magnificent gardens of Counts Palfy and Harrach, Princes Lich¬ 
tenstein, Schwartzenburg, and Esterhazy, Barons Pronay, de Lang, 
and a score of others. The institution of an annual botanical exhibi¬ 
tion, after the English style, with the distribution of prizes to the 
growers of the most perfect specimens of plants, has likewise im¬ 
mensely contributed to consolidate and extend this humanising taste. 

So much confusion exists in the governmental divisions of the 
Austrian empire, owing to the various states to which the different 
portions originally belonged, and in part also due to the different 
arrangement adopted in these latter years, that we despair of describ¬ 
ing the cities spread over the country in anything like methodical 
order. We shall, therefore, make no attempt to classify them by the 
old or new system, but take them as they stand upon our list, in the 
order in which they were visited. 


AUSTRIA. 


Gratz, the capital of Styria, is rather a well-built city, standing 
in a fertile plain on the banks of the Mur or Muchr. It has some 
fine architectural edifices, of which the Cathedral, the Imperial Cha¬ 
teau, and the Johanneum, are the most remarkable. This last is a 
scientific and literary establishment, founded by the Archduke 
John, who bestowed on it his name. The Johanneum is only one 
of many institutions of a scientific character belonging to Griitz. 
Its university is well known, and its public library is one of the 
richest in the empire. As a commercial city Gratz stands very high. 
As Styria produces hardware, both of the rougher and finer sorts, 
many parts of the government possessing rich iron mines, the prin¬ 
cipal portion of the trade centres in that capital, and renders it hot 
a busy and populous place. In this same division are found several 
other towns, which in their aspect bear strong evidence of the cir¬ 
cumstances that have called them into being. The inhabitants are 
almost all devoted to the pursuits of mining; smelting-houses are 
everywhere visible, and the yawning pits show that man has not stayed 
at the surface of the ground to procure sustenance for his family, but 
has gradually worked his way deep and deeper into the very bowels 
of the earth to obtain the riches there concealed. Eisenerz is remark¬ 
able for its inexhaustible iron mines, worked even in the time of the 
Romans, and the steel manufactured there finds high favour in the 
markets of Europe. The metal is obtained from the Eisen berg, or 
mountain, on whose summit the Archduke John caused a colossal 
iron cross to be raised as a memento of the valuable treasures it con¬ 
tains. The little town of Zell, or Maria-Zell, has claims to notice 
beyond the smelting-houses which abound there. It may be called 
the Loretto of Austria, for its handsome church, rich with the trea¬ 
sures lavished on its altars by numerous devotees, annually attracts 
thousands of the faithful to do homage at its shrines, and carry away 
some relic as evidence of their pilgrimage. 

The government of Upper Austria has no city of great note, 
although it possesses many hives of industry. Linz on the Danube 
is the capital of the province, is tolerably well built, and boasts a 
Lyceum, a gymnasium, and a musical society, besides a vast im¬ 
perial cloth manufactory, and other similar establishmentt. The 
learned in fortification derive great interest from the contempla 


I Kg 

TIIE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


tion of its Maximilian towers and other fortresses, which render it, 
they say, a very formidable place. Steyer, in the same province, is 



LINZ ON THE DANUBE. 


another of the iron towns where busy hands are employed in giving 
to that valuable metal all the forms, and fashioning it to all the 
uses which make it of such wondrous value to mankind. Salz¬ 
burg, also in Upper Austria, and the see of an archbishop, is rather 
a well-built city, its cathedral and ecclesiastical palace giving it an 
air of some importance. The former, built after the model of St. 
Peter’s at Rome, is a fine edifice. Its trade is somewhat extensive, 
and the increase of population it has brought into the place has 
wrought a great change in its aspect. There are many pretty little 
towns and villages in its neighbourhood, most of which are worth a 
visit from some branch of industry peculiar to them, or from a lordly 
chateau with its gallery of pictures, or, perchance, from a peculiarity 
of position which gives some otherwise obscure hamlet a claim to 
attention and praise. ITellbrunn, for instance, has a pretty garden, 
with water-works, and a curious theatre actually carved out of the 
rock. Gastein, again, is a large village, renowned for its baths and 
gold and silver mines. It is, however, still more curious from its 
elevation, being, according to the opinion of M. Brugui&re, no less 
than 6300 feet above the level of the sea! Should this calculation 
















































AUSTRIA. 


be correct, Gastein would be one of tbe loftiest inhabited spots m 
i Europe. Not far from this latter place, and near the village of 
Krimnal, is a magnificent cascade, which seems to have escaped the 
attention of most travellers, although few prospects of this kind can 
boast grander features. It is created by the fall of the Ache, which 
thunders to a giddy depth almost without a break, and forms alto¬ 
gether a sublime spectacle. 

Imispruck is the capital of the Tyrol, and was at one time the 
place of residence of the Austrian Archdukes. There is still much 
about it which speaks of former importance, although its finest 
existing buildings are of modern date. It has a university and 
several public schools, among which are establishments for the cul¬ 
tivation of the arts and music, and it contains a museum called the 
Ferdinandeum, with valuable collections of natural history, antiqui¬ 
ties, and the fine arts. There is a ch&teau in the neighbourhood 
known as the Ambras, which is a most interesting spot for all those 
who busy themselves with researches into the manners and customs 
of the middle ages. A few years ago the attractions of this mansion 
were unusually great. It boasted, with truth, of possessing almost 
everything which the luxury and extravagance of the great lords of 
the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries had been able to conceive in 
matters of taste. The armoury displayed the coats and paraphernalia 
of numerous princes and celebrated warriors. Its museum, its library, 
its gallery of pictures, were admirable in their completeness. The town 
of Hall has important salt-works and a mint. Schwaz has mines of 
copper and silver; and Botzen is a busy place with annual fairs for 
the sale of many articles of home manufacture. Trent on the Adige 
owes its reputation to its connexion with history, for the city itself is 
of inconsiderable extent. Pleasantly situated in a retired valley, it 
would probably have remained in entire obscurity but for the cele¬ 
brated council which was held there, and which bears its name. 
The sittings lasted from 1545 to 1563, and took place in the church 
of Santa Maria Maggiore. The episcopal palace, with pretty gar¬ 
dens attached to it, are among the celebrities of Trent, and its silk 
manufactories supply work to many of the inhabitants. This is the 
case with several other towns and villages within this government, 
and the introduction of steam as a motive power has considerably 
augmented the production- Be Pore leaving this part of the Austrian 








THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


dominions we must not forget two little valleys, which merit such 
attention from the persevering industry of their inhabitants. One of 
them, the Yalley of Groden, within the circle of Botzen, is the place 
where those wooden toys and fancy articles are made, which find 
their way into every country of Europe, and, indeed, spread them¬ 
selves over great part of the world. The Yalley of Tofferez, in the 
circle of Pusterthal, produces the fine carpets known as the Tyrolese, 
which are in great favour on the Continent, and find a ready sale in 
the United States of America. 

The places we have hitherto described may be properly desig¬ 
nated the German Countries. We are now about to enter the king;- 
dom of Illyria, with its various governments, reserving, as we before 
said, that of Trieste as part of Italy. The government of Laibach 
contains the city of the same name, a place of considerable transit 
business, with schools, a public library, and some learned societies. 
It is the see of a bishop, and has an increasing population. Idria, 
though a small town, is important from its rich mines of mercury, 
which probably yield only to those of Almaden in Spain. Klagen- 
furth, the chief place of the circle of Carinthia, like Laibach, has a 
flourishing transit trade; it possesses also some extensive manufac¬ 
tories, particularly of silk and cloth. Many valuable mines exist 
throughout this district, and the enterprise and capital which are 
willingly embarked in speculations of such nature are daily calling 
to light fresh mineral riches. Hiittenberg has extensive iron mines; 
Blieberg boasts lead-mines of great value; and Eerlach, another 
large village in their neighbourhood, converts the productions of the 
two former into articles of different uses, which constitute an advan¬ 
tageous trade. Its muskets and other arms are well known in 
Austria. 

The government of the kingdom of Bohemia engages our interest 
1 athei fi ori the vai ious manufactures which are carried on through¬ 
out its territory than from the size or beauty of its cities; yet 
Prague, the capital, has many claims to our notice. Situate almost 
in the middle of Bohemia, of which it is the capital, it is a large and 
generally well-built city, possessing upwards of one hundred palaces, 
among which are those of the archbishop and the splendid mansions 
devoted to military objects. The banks of the Moldau, which runs 
through the city, are united by one of the finest bridges on the Con- 


AUSTKIA. 


tinent, and ecclesiastical edifices innumerable give a majesty and 
imposing look to the place which closer inspection does not entirely 
destroy. The Burz, or imperial chateau, occupied centuries in con¬ 
struction, and was only finished by Maria Theresa; its vastness is, 
however, its principal merit, for it contains several hundreds of apart¬ 
ments and monstrous halls, whose decoration is not remarkable. 
The same may be said of the Hotel de Ville, the Custom-house, the 
Great Hospital, and others among its edifices. It would be vain to 
attempt a description of the churches of Prague, which are almost as 
numerous as its lordly mansions: the cupola of the modern Church 
of the Cross excites admiration from its boldness, and the Cathedral, 
which is called the Domkirche, is renowned for its antiquity. At the 
head of the numerous establishments devoted to literarv and scientific 
purposes must be placed the University, which made so brilliant a 
figure in the middle ages, and which, after having fallen into the 
greatest state of decline in consequence of the troubles caused by the 
revolt of the Hussites, owes its restoration to Maria Theresa and the 
late Emperor. Its library is one of the richest in Germany; its 
scientific collections are very remarkable, and its observatory, lately 
restored and furnished with improved instruments, is a valuable ad¬ 
dition to the building. Schools, institutions, and societies of various 
kinds, are among the notabilities of Prague, which contains likewise a 
national museum of large size, well furnished with the usual collec¬ 
tions of such establishments. 

In a hasty survey of the kingdom of Bohemia, we meet with 
several spots which are not inferior in interest to the capital. Beicli- 
enberg on the Neisse is important from its numerous and flourishing 
manufactures of cloth, cottons, and linens, as also for large tanneries. 
Its exports are very considerable, and troops of workmen are em¬ 
ployed in the construction of machinery for cotton-spinning and other 
purposes. Passing by different towns, whence the sounds of industry 
come full and cheering, we reach the little village of Adersbach, 
whose long avenues of tall rocks of curious form strike the traveller 
•with astonishment; they may, indeed, be styled a vast natural 
labyrinth, amidst which a brook, after falling from a great height, 
rushes with fretful haste, and increases the impression formed by this 
singular picture. The lovers of beautiful scenery will linger in 




THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


another little village called Veltrus, which boasts a fine mansion* 
surrounded by a park* on an island in the Moldau. This charming 
seat is the property of the Count of Chotek. Mines of copper, lead, 
silver, and iron, abound in this kingdom; and parts of it furnish 
large quantities of alum and cobalt. Its mineral waters are no less 
famous, Marienbad, Franzensbrunnen, and Karlsbad, being yearly 
visited by invalids from all parts of Europe, anxious to apply their 
boasted virtues to the renovation of decayed health. Besides the 
baths and springs, whence the inhabitants obtain a handsome re¬ 
venue, these villages derive a good trade from the exporting of flasks 
and bottles of the water, incredible numbers being annually sent to 
the less favoured parts of the empire. Some of the places in Bo¬ 
hemia derive their renown from the extreme beauty of their position, 
and the rich cultivation of their territory. Leitmeritz on the Elbe is 
styled the ee paradise of Bohemia” from these causes and the fertility 
of its soil. Toplitz also is most delightfully situated, and attracts 
fashionable crowds to the baths established there. The glass articles 
for which Bohemia has acquired so deserved a reputation are prin¬ 
cipally obtained from Speinschonau, Rumburg, and Neuwelt, the 
inhabitants of which places display great address in cutting and 
polishing this beautiful material. 

On entering the territory composing the government of Moravia 
and Silesia, the city of Briinn, at the confluence of the Schwarza and 
Zwittawa, demands our first attention from its size, industry, and 
social importance. It may be looked upon as a creation of com¬ 
merce, so much have a few busy years performed in raising it to its 
present position. It is considered the first city in the empire for 
the fabrication of woollen goods; but wool is far from being the sole 
object of the activity and resources of the inhabitants. The opera¬ 
tions of dyeing, the manufactures of silk and soap, the cultivation of 




tobacco, all require their thousands of busy hands; and cloths both 
of linen and wool are produced here in large quantities. A few 
palaces, a church or two, and a theatre, are its only public buildings 
having any pretensions to architecture, but establishments containing 
every convenience for the cultivation of the intellect are not by any 
means rare. It has a fine museum called the Francis, with a botani¬ 


cal garden attached to it, and agriculture is encouraged here by 











AUSTRIA. 


schools devoted to its study. A fine monument in marble has been 
lately raised to perpetuate the remembrance of the campaigns of 
1813, 1814, and 1815; and it must be borne in mind, that in the 
neighbourhood of this city is the little town of Austerlitz, where the 
celebrated battle of the three emperors was gained by Napoleon in 
1805. There is a handsome chateau in the same place belonging to 
the Prince of Kaunitz-Rietberg, with noted grounds attached to it. 

So great is the industrial character of this government, that 
there is scarcely one petty place, with its few thousands of inhabit¬ 
ants, but can point to its active factories and spacious buildings 
called into existence by the establishment or developement of some 
branch of commerce. Almiitz, the former capital of Moravia, is 
a strongly fortified city, lately enriched with a university. It con¬ 
tains also a college for the nobles, and a tolerable library. Stern¬ 
berg, Prasnitz, and Iglau, have cloth manufactories in most flourishing 
condition, and the last-mentioned has some paper-mills. Neutischein 
is another busy little place, with cloth, linen, and cotton fabrics. 
Ivremsier, though small, is one of the prettiest cities in Moravia. It 
prides itself on a magnificent palace, the residence of the Archbishop 
of Almiitz, comprising a fine library, a gallery of pictures, some com¬ 
plete collections of natural history, and a botanical garden. Troppau, 
on the other hand, is the most considerable place of Austrian Silesia, 
and, besides its manufactories of woollen cloths and fire-arms, vaunts 
a fine palace belonging to the Prince of Lichtenstein. 

We now turn our steps to that portion in the spoils of Poland 
which fell to the share of Austria, to give a brief account of the 
principal towns contained in the kingdom of Galicia. Lemberg is 
the capital; formerly the chief place of Red Russia, now that of all 
Austrian Poland. It is both a large and well-built city, rising on 
the banks of the Pelteu, where the waters of the Bug unite with 
that little stream. Streets of good breadth, straight, well paved, and 
clean (rather a rare occurrence in Poland), and some lofty edifices, 
assign it a distinguished place among the cities of the empire. The 
Church of the Dominicans claims early attention, from its containing 
one of those noble monuments which not only honour the sculptor 
who erects them, but confer that privilege wherever they chance to 
be raised. This beautiful production is the work of Thorwaldsen, 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROrE. 


the Danish artist, and it was intended to perpetuate the memory of the 
Countess Borowska. Lemberg is singular in being at one and the same 
time the residence of the highest dignitaries of very opposite religions. 
Catholic, Armenian, and Greek archbishops have all their palaces 
established there; and to these high dignitaries may be added a supe¬ 
rior Rabbi, who has the care of the souls of the Jewish population, 
amounting alone to more than twenty thousand. Besides its literary 
establishments, Lemberg is advantageously distinguished among the 
imperial cities by its varied industry, principally directed, however, 
to the production of woollen and linen goods. It has a large export 
trade, doing great business with Russia, Turkey, and the surrounding 
countries. In this respect, indeed, it yields probably to no other 
in the empire. The situation being very agreeable, some pleasant 
spots have been opened by this extension of the town, and the walks 
in the surrounding country, dotted here and there with the country- 
houses of the wealthier burghers, are most delightful. 

Brody is another most flourishing town in the same government, 
with a large population, five-sixths of which are composed of Jews. 
They have some schools here, and carry on a fine trade with Russia 
and Turkey. Drohobicz owes its rise to the indefatigable industry 
of its inhabitants and the possession of rich salt-mines in its imme¬ 
diate neighbourhood; but in respect of this latter article the town of 
Wieliczka is, perhaps, the most extraordinary in Europe. Its mines 
offer the spectacle of a subterranean city, with streets, squares or 
places, dwelling-houses, &c., and these, being principally arranged 
one above another, give you the idea of the dolls’ houses so much 
in vogue with English children, in which by removal of the front the 
whole of the various divisions are exposed to view. Several pretty 
chapels, with columns and altar-pieces carved out of the rock-salt 
and adorned with a crucifix or image of the same material, before 
which a lamp is constantly burning, are among the numerous curiosi¬ 
ties. Here, at certain times, mass is celebrated, and the appearance 
of the miners, with the effect produced by their chanting service 
and the glitter of the wax-candles on the salient points and bosses of 
the salt, make a wondrous ensemble. In one of these chapels an 
ingenious artist has carved out a statue of the King Augustus III., 
who, like Lot’s wife, stands erect, a figure of solid salt. 




PESTH. 


The ancient kingdom of Hungary, the most extensive dependency 
of the Austrian Empire, is watered by some noble streams, of which the 
Danube holds the first rank. Approaching the Centre of the country, 
we find two cities on opposite banks of the river, which are connected 
by a bridge of boats, and a magnificent suspension-bridge erected by an 
Englishman, Mr. Tierney Clarke. One of these cities is Bude, the capi¬ 
tal of Hungary since 1784; the other is Pesth. The former, Bude— 
called Ofen by the Germans, Buda by the Hungarians, and Budin 
by the Slavonians—is on the right bank of the Danube, having, from 
Sts delicious situation and its extent, acquired considerable renown. 
The Royal Palace, now the residence of the Viceroy; the Arsenal, 
containing some curious objects of the middle ages; and the Observa¬ 
tory of the University, built upon the Blocksberg, are among its 
notabilities. Some large edifices, the palaces of the former magnates, 
or great Hungarian lords, are scattered about the city, and attract 
attention from their quaintness and antiquity. Bude was long ago 
celebrated for its hot baths, and still retains its reputation. The 
charming little Margaret Island, known also as the Palatine, on ac¬ 
count of its having been transformed by one of the Archdukes into a 
beautiful garden, is the chosen retreat of all classes of the inhabitants, 

while the view of the two cities from various points, joined to the 

rru 1 






















































THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE, 


animated picture presented by the river and the shores, makes this 
pretty spot doubly delightful. 

Pesth (Pestum, Pestinum) is on the left bank of the Danube, in 
the midst of a sandy plain. It is looked upon as the finest city of all 
Hungary, a qualification which is justified by its broad and regular 
streets, its solidly-constructed houses, and several spacious buildings. 
We may add, that Pesth is the largest, the most populous, the most 
industrious and commercial place of the entire kingdom. During 
each of its four annual fairs, twenty thousand strangers, at the very 
least, flock thither from all parts of Hungary, as well as from the more 
remote districts of the empire; and even merchants out of Turkey 
may be seen there; business for upwards of a million sterling is 
transacted on these occasions. Buildings of enormous size are scat¬ 
tered throughout Pesth, some of them being the former residences of 
Hungarian magnates, others devoted to the purposes of education, 
while the largest are used as barracks and military depots. As this 
city is at the head of the literature and science of Hungary, it is, not 
unnaturally, rich in establishments dedicated to these pursuits. The 
University is one of the most splendidly endowed in Europe, and is 
truly remarkable for the vastness of its dependent offices, such as the 
type-foundry and printing-houses, the library, cabinets of physics, 
anatomy, natural history, and botanical garden. There is also a 
national museum, founded by Count Szecsengi, which, besides being 
the principal edifice of the kind in Hungary, and one of the most 
remarkable on the Continent from its numerous and important col¬ 
lections, is, above all, distinguished by its rich library, wherein is pre¬ 
served the valuable collection of manuscripts of Counsellor Keller, 
and those of the Hungarian poets from Janus Pannonius down to the 
present time. Although containing some ancient buildings, Pesth 
may be looked on as a creation of our own days, so much has the 
city become enlarged during the last half-century: for several years 
in succession its population has been increasing at the rate of ten 
thousand per annum. Both Bude and Pesth have played a great 
part in the various wars that have desolated this great German em¬ 
pire, and it has at different periods fallen into the hands of contending 
Turks and Hungarians. 

Presburg, like Pesth and Bude, is known under a variety of 


AUSTRIA. 


names. It is designated Posony in Hungary, Pressburek by the 
Slavonians, Presburg by the Germans, and the Latins called it 
Posonium. Previous to 1784 it was the capital of the kingdom, but 
at that period, all superior authorities being transferred to Bude, it 
lost its title with other advantages. It is reckoned one of the hand¬ 
somest cities in Hungary, and, although of no great extent, it makes 
a fine figure as its towers rise from the banks of the Danube. Its 
public buildings are not numerous, but one or two are remarkable 
in their way. The Church of St. Martin has a splendid spire, which 
is of majestic height; the theatre is a spacious building; and the 
barracks are much admired. The Count of Appony, a Hungarian 
nobleman, who had resided some years in Vienna, where he had a 
magnificent establishment, resolved, for the benefit of his country, to 
transfer it to Presburg. He selected an open locality, where he 
caused his palace to be erected, and when all was complete, threw it 
open for the benefit of the public during certain hours of the day. 
Among other valuable attractions of this splendid building is a library 
which can vie with most of the public ones throughout the country. 
The vicinity of the Austrian capital, the low price of provisions, 
many important literary establishments, and the delicious situation of 
Presburg, cause this city to be selected as the residence of half-pay 
military officers and decayed nobles and gentlemen. These consti¬ 
tute a society of no ordinary kind, and many can remember with 
pleasure the agreeable days which, on such grounds, they have been 
enabled to spend in the former capital of Hungary. 

Debreczin is in most respects the very opposite to Presburg, and 
by its manufactures has acquired importance in spite of the most dis¬ 
advantageous circumstances; thus proving, that industry and perse¬ 
verance can effect what the greatest local advantages often fail to 
bestow. It possesses no springs of water fit for drink, it has no wood 
adapted for combustion, and can boast no materials proper for build¬ 
ing purposes; yet the prosperity of the place is undoubted, and its 
population is large and active. It cannot be supposed, however, that 
a town so situated can point to any architectural monuments worthy 
of admiration,—no, Debreczin rather resembles an assemblage of 
villages than aspires to the recognised forms and importance of a 
city; but its numerous manufactories of cloth adapted for peasants’ 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


wear, its tanneries, potteries, soaperies, and establishments for the 
making of boots, are carried on upon a large scale. Like Pestli, it 
has four annual fairs, visited by thousands of strangers, many of 
whom visit this distant spot to purchase horses, which are very 
renowned; and it is curious, that amidst all this commercial 
bustle and apparently unfavourable soil for literature or science the 
so-called Reformed College should have its seat. This is the chief 
establishment possessed by the Calvinists in the Empire of Austria; 
by the number of its professors and the variety of courses of instruc¬ 
tion delivered therein, it may be looked on as a university. 

We must pass rapidly over the remaining towns, which, though 
not large, offer peculiarities that our confined space alone compels us 
to omit mentioning. At Esterhaz, is a magnificent chateau of Prince 
Esterhazy, whose name is so well known in England; and at no great 
distance stands the little fortress of Frakno or Eorchtenstein, where 
is preserved the rich treasury of the family, consisting of a large 
quantity of precious stones, tables, and candelabra of solid silver, and 
other rarities. The environs are very beautiful, and may be ranged 
among the most picturesque in Hungary. The lovers of wine pay a 
willing visit to Tyrnau, situated to the north-east of Presburg. It 
has a very flourishing trade in the produce of the grape, and can 
boast, among its curiosities, of a gigantic tun, the capacity of which 
is more than double that of the far-famed tun of Heidelberg. 
Neusatz, at the other extremity of the kingdom, is the intermediate 
point of the lucrative trade carried on over land, between Vienna, 
Leipsic, and other places, with various towns of Turkey in Europe. 
It is on the opposite bank of the Danube to Petenvardein, with 
which a bridge of boats makes a communication. In the Comitate 
of Liptau, there is a village known as the Demenfalva, which con¬ 
tains a vast grotto, called Drachen Hbhle, or the Grotto of the 
Dragon, on account of its being filled with the bones of gigantic 
animals. Schemnitz and Kremnitz have rich gold and silver mines; 
Rosenau has mines of copper, iron, antimony, and lead; Agtelek, a 
small town, is remarkable for the Grotto of Baradla existing in its 
neighbourhood, which is so large as to be subdivided into several 
caverns filled with superb stalactites, and to be traversed by three 
brawling rivulets. Tokay is renowned for its wines; Mischkolocz 


AUSTRIA 


for its trade and iron-works, but, above all, for its charming 
situation; the delicious valley in which this latter place is nestled, 
can vie in beauty with the famous site of Tharande, near Dresden. 
Slavonia and Croatia possess several towns of little note except in 
a military point of view. Transylvania can point to many others 
having higher claims of interest, but a description of which would be 
too long just now; while the military confines, as the name implies, 
are more remarkable for fortified places than cities devoted to com¬ 
merce, literature, or science. 

What has been observed of the climate of Prussia is equally 
applicable to the country now under review. The Austrian 
dominions, moreover, cover so immense an extent of land, which is 
itself so various in position and elevation that almost every degree of 
temperature prevalent in our zone is found within their limits. For 
the most part, the climate is mild and healthful. Many portions of 
Hungary, however, on account of defective drainage and want of 
cultivation, are liable to agues and other maladies consequent on 
humidity; while Bohemia is, on the other hand, singularly fine and 
healthy. 

The zoology of Austria offers little worthy of remark. In the 
Alpine range, the chamois and marmot are not unknown, nor are 
bears and wolves strangers to the wilder regions of the country. 
Many of the sheep have erect spiral horns and pendent hairy fleece, 
and the slaty colour of the cows and oxen is peculiar. The Hun¬ 
garian horses, though small, bear a high character for speed and 
spirit; they are mostly wild, and are sold, unbroken, at the fairs we 
have alluded to. 

The history of Austria is the history of the whole German Empire,■' 
which has been so cut up into different states from the very earliest \ 
times that it becomes a matter of no easy accomplishment so to 
separate the history of each as to make it intelligible without 
entering upon an account of the whole. We observe this enormous 
country at the outset inhabited by barbarous tribes; we see them 
gradually subdued by the Romans, and learning from their conquerors 
the first arts of peace and improvement; we note the humanising effects 
produced upon the rude masses by the introduction of Christianity; 
and we remark the prodigious though cruel energies of the Frankish 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


Emperor Charlemagne directed to the accomplishment of the sub¬ 
jection of Germany,—a feat which he succeeded in effecting, while 
he extended his dominion also over great part of Italy. This 
was the commencement of that German influence in the Italian 
peninsula which has caused so much jealousy and bloodshed, and is 
certain, before it is destroyed, to lead to a great deal more. The 
successors of Charlemagne, who had held portions of the territory 
conquered by the great Emperor, being dead, the German Empire 
may be properly said to begin; Conrad, Duke of Franconia, being 
the first German emperor: this was in 912, and from that period 
almost every state of Germany, at various times, has furnished an 
occupant to the Imperial throne. Wars in Italy, contests with the 
Turks, and various disputes among the different kingdoms and 
principalities, bring us to the year 1273, when the present house of 
Austria took its rise with Rodolf of Hapsburg. This monarch, who 
was a prince of an ancient family of Austria, had some trouble after 
his election with the kingdom of Bohemia and dukedom of Bavaria; 
but, succeeding by the exercise of great wisdom and energy in over¬ 
coming their resistance, he secured to his family the whole of the 
Austrian dominions, and raised Vienna to the dignity of an Imperial 
city. The reign of Albert, the son of Rodolf, was remarkable for the 
first steps towards the freedom of Switzerland, up to that time a 
dependency of the Empire. Owing to the tyranny of the German 
governors, the Swiss, under William Tell and other leaders, eman¬ 
cipated themselves from the rule of their stern masters, and formed 
themselves into a republic. Disputed successions have at all times 
caused much misery and slaughter in Germany. The interference of 
the German emperors with Italian affairs was, as we have before 
stated, the source of troubles as wide-spread as sanguinary. To these 
two causes may be referred almost all the wars which desolated the 
Empire for centuries. It would be as difficult as unprofitable to 
attempt within the space of a page or two to give these matters in 
detail. It was very natural that an empire formed of such different 
kingdoms and states, each governed by different laws and inhabited 
by people with such opposite inclinations, should, at the first oppor¬ 
tunity which offered, attempt to throw off a power as irksome as it 
was humiliating to their pride; so that little surprise can be felt at 


AUSTRIA. 


observing Poland, Hungary, Bohemia, Saxony, and other great 
territories, eager on all occasions to rebel and strive to raise themselves 
on the ruin of their rivals. The sacred name of religion was also 
brought forward to embitter the struggle, and the wars consequent 
on the preaching of John Huss, and at a later period on that of 
Martin Luther, are among the most awful of those terrible times. 
So fiercely were they carried on, and so deeply did they strike into 
the hearts of those engaged in them, that at one period the country 
from end to end was racked with these religious contests, the 
hostilities, which lasted from 1618 to 1648, being known at the 
present time as the Thirty Years’ W ar. In speaking of Prussia, we 
have described the accession of Maria Theresa and the attempts made 
by various monarchs to wrest portions of her extensive dominions 
from her hands. Prussia, which had become a separate kingdom, 
succeeded in obtaining Silesia, but the attacks on Upper Austria and 
Bohemia were defeated. Poland was soon after divided between 
Russia, Austria, and Prussia; and from that time the changes wrought 
in the divisions of the great German Empire have been less violent. 
It is easy to conceive, however, what vast energy and wisdom are 
requisite to maintain a position so difficult as that of Austria at the 
present day. The territory known under that name is composed of 
elements as unstable as in the days we have briefly described. The 
same restlessness, the same discontent among the various dependencies 
of the Empire, are as visible now as they were at any former period; 
and to human intelligence it appears that nothing but a firm hand 
and a wise head can keep together so strange a compound of adverse 
feelings as is observable in the different members of the Austrian 
family, surrounded as the Empire is by powerful and jealous neigh¬ 
bours only too willing to lend their assistance to the creating discon¬ 
tent, as they foresee advantage to themselves from such a proceeding; 
and that, without such appliances, the integrity of the country for 
any lengthened period is impossible. 

The dominant religion of Austria is the Catholic, and it is that 
which is professed by the majority of the people. Many belong to 
the Greek Church, particularly in Transylvania and Southern 
Hungary, and in the kingdoms of Slavonia, Croatia, and Galicia. But 
the t wo former provinces contain many Protestants in their two great 


THE RICHMOXDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 

divisions of Lutherans and Calvinists; and many Jews find refuge in 
the country, as all religious persuasions enjoy complete toleration. 

The government of the Empire is differently carried on in the 
various countries of which it is composed. We may, however, 
remark that an absolute monarchy is more or less observable in all, 
saving Hungary and Transylvania, where it is, to a certain extent, 
said to be limited. 

German is, of course, the language spoken, though it undergoes 
various modifications in different parts of the Empire. The Polish 
and Hungarian tongues, though perfectly distinct, are, on account of 
their derivation from the same stock, easily comprehensible to an 
intelligent German; and various patois are used in those districts 
where the territory borders on countries whose national idiom is of a 
different kind. 

Austria, owing to her vast territory, can display, perhaps, a 
greater variety of costume than most other European states; but as 
time rolls on, the local distinctions of attire among the educated 
classes become less and less observable, all tending towards one 
model, which, by common consent, is periodically changed by certain 
fashionable dress-makers at Paris. In spite of this, the splendour of 
the dress peculiar to the Hungarian nobles has induced many from a 
natural vanity to retain their vests embroidered with gold, their velvet 
mantles lined with fur, and their handsome caps and military trap¬ 
pings, on occasions of ceremony. The peasantry in various parts 
rejoice in distinctive costumes; the short petticoats with stiff boddices 
of the women, and the embroidered jackets, blue pantaloons, and 
flower-ornamented hats of the men, giving a tone of variety and 
gaiety to many a festive scene. 

Notwithstanding the disadvantages of a position almost entirely 
continental, and a disadvantage increased also by the situation of 
the chain of mountains, which, with the exception of a part of the 
government of Venice, separates the coast from the interior of the 
Empire, the commerce carried on by this state is both extensive and 
important. This is owing in part to the splendid roads, almost all 
formed in the late reigns, and partly to the canals; while the rail¬ 
roads, which are beginning to cover the country, of course increase 
it immensely. 



FKANKF0KT-0N-THE-MA1NE. 


GERMANIC CONFEDERATION. 

In attempting, within the limits of a few pages, to give an account 
of the Germanic Confederation, composed as it is of forty different 
states, we think it advisable to change somewhat the order we have 
hitherto adopted in describing the countries we have travelled 
through; and whereas we have, up to this time, deferred till the 
last any mention of the political circumstances which have influenced 
the destinies of the various states, we shall, in the present instance, 
preface our description of the little German kingdoms, dukedoms, 
and principalities, with a few remarks explanatory of their federal 
union. 

The Actual Confederation anciently formed the German Empire, 
properly so called, which, previous to the war of the Revolution, was 
divided into nme circles, viz., those of Austria, Bavaria, and Suabia, 
to the south; Franconia, the Upper and Lower Rhine, in the centre; 
and Westphalia, Upper and Lower Saxony, to the north. There 






















































































































THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 

were, moreover, countries considered to form part ot the empire 
without belonging to any circle; the principal of these were the 
kingdom of Bohemia, Silesia, Moravia, and Lusatia. The nine cir¬ 
cles contained a multitude of states both secular and ecclesiastic, cf 
irregular extent, subject to princes independent of each other, and 
fifty-one Imperial cities forming as many republics. All these various 
dignities, the number of which amounted to about three hundred, 
were united for the general interest, under an elective chief, who 
bore the title of Emperor of Germany; and this high position had for 
a considerable time become, so to speak, hereditary in the house of 
Austria. 

The peace of Luneville (1801), which confirmed to France the 
cession of the left bank of the Rhine, caused great change in the 
German Empire. Almost the whole of the ecclesiastical states right 
of the Rhine were secularised, and all the Imperial cities, with the 
exception of six, were put down. These countries were made over 
as indemnity to the secular princes, who had lost provinces left of 
the Rhine. The electorates of Treves and Cologne were suppressed, 
and four new ones were created, viz., Saltzburg, Wurtemberg, 
Baden, and Hesse Cassel; and the free cities which remained were 
Hamburg, Lubeck, Bremen, Frankfort-on-the-Maine, Augsburg, and 
Nuremberg. 

In 1806, a short time after the peace of Presburg (1805), the 
German Empire was completely dissolved, and a great part of the 
states composing it were united under the protection of France to 
form the Confederation of the Rhine. The treaties of Tilsit (1807) 
and Vienna (1809) added new states to this federation, which in 1813, 
the period of its dissolution, amounted to 34. 

As a result of the events which in 1814 and 1815 changed the 
face of Europe, a new confederation was formed at Vienna, under 
the title of Germanic Confederation, the subject-matter now under 
review. We will do our best to give our young readers a tolerably 
clear idea of the states forming this union, although the great num¬ 
ber which it comprises, their frequent political connexion, the family 
ties which bind them to the reigning sovereigns of almost every Eu¬ 
ropean state, and the multiplicity of different interests existing among 
them, make the task one of no trifling difficulty. 


GERMANIC CONFEDERATION. 


Almost every shade of government, from democracy to aristocracy, 
exists in the Confederation, although they may he generally ranged 
in two categories, viz., monarchical and republican. 

The religion is Catholic and Protestant; among the latter there 
are both Calvinists and Lutherans, now united throughout Germany 
under the denomination of the Evangelical Church. It may be 
generally remarked, that Catholicism is professed by the majority of 
the people in the Austrian States, Lutheranism by the Prussians, and 
Calvinism by a very small minority. Frankfort-on-the-Maine,—so 
called in contradistinction to another Frankfort, on the Oder,—is the 
chief place of the republic bearing the same name, and may be looked 
upon as the capital of the entire union, since it is the seat of the Diet 
and the residence of all the ambassadors from foreign states to the 
body representing the Germanic Confederation. The city is divided 
into the old and new town. In the former the narrow thoroughfares 
and quaint architecture of the lofty buildings vividly recall the days 
of Frankfort’s grandeur; a different aspect is visible in the new 
quarters, where other requirements have widened the streets and 
guided the architects in the construction of the edifices, for they 
wear less the appearance of fortresses, and seem, as indeed they are, 
more commodious for their indwellers. The Cathedral is remarkable 
rather from the consideration of its being the last work of the 
ancient German architecture, than any peculiarity or beauty distin¬ 
guishing it. There are some curious monuments in the interior, 
among which is distinguishable that of the Emperor Gunther of 
Schwarzburg. The Hotel de Ville, or Town Hall, called the 
Romer, is less remarkable as a monument of art than for its his¬ 
torical interest. They show the great hall where the electors or 
their delegates were accustomed to assemble for the election of the 
Emperor: nowadays the Senate hold their sittings there. There is 
also a hall called the Hall of Emperors, originally adorned with the 
portraits of those who had successively borne the sceptre. Within 
this building also is preserved, as a relic, the original of the famous 
Golden Bull, a document by which the Emperor Charles the Fourth 
fixed the election of his successors and other matters pertaining to the 
Imperial dignity. The new quarters of the city contain some fine 
modern palaces; among others may be mentioned the Stoedel 5 an 




TIIE RICHMONDS' TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


institution containing collections of the fine arts, and where professors 
deliver courses on drawing, painting, architecture, mathematics, &c., 
besides a handsome gallery of pictures. The Senkenberg Museum, 
with its botanical garden, library, and anatomical theatre • the mu¬ 
seum of natural history, greatly augmented in these latter years by 
the unflagging exertions of the celebrated travellers Riippel and 
Freyeisen; the public library, contained in a magnificent building, 
completed in 1828; are all worthy of attentive consideration. 
Although the commercial fairs, held here annually at Easter and 
Michaelmas, are very far from being what they once were when 
they attracted as many as 50,000 strangers, they are still reckoned 
among the richest and most frequented in Europe. The banking 
business of Frankfort is immense, and this city may be looked upon 
as standing in the very first rank of German trading towns. It was 
for a considerable time the entrepot of the book business of Germany, 
until the burdens imposed upon this branch of trade induced the 
booksellers to remove the seat of their operations to Leipsic; never¬ 
theless, Frankfort does a good deal in the book line. We may men¬ 
tion as worthy of note, that it was in that city, in 1615, that the first 
printed journal appeared in the German language, for although a 
paper containing news had circulated there since the year 1535, it 
was in manuscript. 

Having thus briefly described the principal features of what may 
be considered the capital of the Germanic Confederation, we will try 
to arrange in something like order the accounts of the other places, 
and to this end will speak of them state by state, commencing with 
the kingdom of Bavaria, which contains eight circles. 

Munich (Munchen) on the Iser is the chief place of the circle of 
the Iser and capital of the entire kingdom, and is one of the most 
beautiful cities in Germany, having, since the commencement of the 
present century, been augmented and embellished in a truly extra¬ 
ordinary way. These improvements are principally due to the im¬ 
mediate predecessors of the reigning sovereign, his late Majesty being 
an intelligent connoisseur and great protector of the fine arts; he 
spent enormous sums in the adornment of the city and the construc¬ 
tion of a large number of edifices and institutions of a very remark¬ 
able kind. The irregularity of the original plans, and some few 


GERMANIC CONFEDERATION. 


buildings of tlie middle ages rising up still in the midst of modern 
palaces, are set off by broad streets, well planned and furnished with 
footways, adorned with elegant houses and lofty mansions. The 
Royal Palace is looked upon as one of the most splendid regal 
residences in Germany. Composed originally of various clumps of 
building of irregular form, it has, under the direction of Counsellor 
Klenze, been moulded into uniformity and beauty. Almost every 
aspect offers a study to the eye, always graceful, yet ever various. 
The south facade is in the finest Florentine style; the northern part 
reminds the spectator of the massive palaces of Rome; while the 
eastern side displays the architecture of the new chapel in the 
Byzantine taste, with its cupolas and profuse gilding. Rich frescoes, 
an immense garden in the English style, and a superb staircase, 
called cc the Emperor’s,” are among the other beauties of this costly 
residence. The number of other public buildings worthy of attention 
and praise is so great that it would alone fill some pages; there are 
institutions for every branch of study; there are museums, churches, 
galleries, and libraries; and the capital of Bavaria possesses some de¬ 
lightful promenades, one of which, as it is called the English Garden, 
deserves at least our mention. This shady retreat is to Munich what 
the Prater is to the Viennese, and the Thiergarten to the inhabitants 
of Berlin. Although Munich is not, in proportion to its size and 
population, the most commercial and industrial city in Germany, it 
is the seat, notwithstanding, of several highly important manufac¬ 
tures; among these is distinguishable a beautiful kind of porcelain 
and delicate tapestry work, which the Germans rank on a level with 
the celebrated Gobelins. 

Passau, the chief place of the circle of the Lower Danube, is im¬ 
portant from its position at the confluence of the Inn and Ilz with the 
Danube, and the strength of its fortifications. Its cathedral and 
bridges are fine and worthy of remark. 

In the circle of the Regen, the city of Ratisbon (Regensbourg), 
situate at the point where the Regen flows into the Danube, demands 
our notice. The Hotel de Ville is remarkable from the fact that the 
Diet of the Germanic Empire assembled within its walls from 1662 
till the time of its dissolution in 1806; and the present residence of 
the Prince of Thurn and Taxis is no less singular from its extent 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 

and splendid scientific and fine-art collections; it was formerly the 
Imperial Abbey of Saint Emmeran. 

Baireuth, a very pretty town seated on the Red Main, is the chief 
place of the circle of the Upper Maine, and is, moreover, a bustling and 
commercial town. It boasts one of the largest theatres in Germany. 

Bamberg on the Rednitz is a fine and flourishing archiepiscopal 
city in the same circle, with an imposing cathedral, containing a 
beautiful colossal statue in bronze, raised to the memory of the last 
prince-bishop; a grand hospital, with celebrated schools of surgery 
and medicine; a rich library and museum; and a very fine square 
or place called “ Maximilian,” which is adorned with a lofty statue of 
that monarch. Many scientific and literary establishments are well 
worthy of attention, and none can pass through the city without 
bestowing looks of admiration on the new bridge, with the grand 
span of its arch, and the suspension bridge lately completed. The 
cultivation of flowers is a peculiar feature also of the immediate en¬ 
virons of Bamberg, and these beautiful productions of nature afford 
employment to numbers of industrious people. 

Anspach, in the circle of the Rezat, is a pretty town built at the 
meeting of the waters of the Holzbacli with the Lower Rezat. It has 
a fine chateau and a rich library, but, although the chief place of the 
circle, it yields in beauty and real importance to Nuremberg (Niirn- 
berg), once an imperial city, built on the Pegnitz, in the midst of a 
sandy plain, rendered fertile by cultivation. There are few cities in 
Europe more suggestive than Nuremberg of the middle ages, so 
much have the interiors of the buildings, with their fittings and fur¬ 
niture, the style of that period. Its churches, with their varied 
architecture and glorious painted windows; its chateau and Hotel de 
Ville, both adorned with fine pictures; its schools, museums, and 
societies, are all remarkable, and some of them are of great antiquity. 
In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries this city was one of the 
richest, most flourishing, and most commercial, in Europe; but 
although various causes have been at work in contributing to strip it 
of former splendour and reduce its population from nearly one hun¬ 
dred thousand to only one-third of that number, it still retains a 
respectable position, and is honourably distinguished by its industry. 
The host of celebrities, with Albert Durer at their head, who owe 


GERMANIC CONFEDERATION. 


their birth to Nuremberg or are some way connected with it, would 
alone redeem it from neglect. 

On entering the circle of the Lower Maine,, Wurtzburg, its chief 
place on that river, demands our notice, although it is more favoured 
by the beauty of its situation and vine-clad environs than the splen¬ 
dour of its buildings and regularity of its streets. It contains the 
usual amount of literary and scientific establishments, and a uni¬ 
versity, one of the most ancient and renowned in Germany. On a 
height, without the walls, rises the citadel of Marienberg, reckoned a 
formidable place, and which from its boldness lends a picturesque 
character to the scene from almost every point of view. 

A different interest leads us to Augsburg, at the confluence of 
the Wertach with the Lech, an episcopal city, once imperial, and 
nowadays the chief place of the circle of the Upper Danube. It con¬ 
tains an arsenal, which is the principal depot of arms for the entire 
kingdom; a town-hall, which is reputed the finest in Germany, with 
an enormous hall; while the pfalz , or palace, of the bishopric boasts 
the apartment rendered so celebrated by the Confession of Augsburg, 
presented to Charles Y. in 1530. Augsburg possesses societies and 
institutions of various kinds, a public library, and gallery of pictures; 
it is also renowned for its goldsmith’s work, jewellery, clocks, mathe¬ 
matical instruments, besides its manufactures of cotton, its tanneries, 
and a crowd of other products which raise it to the first rank among 
the busy trading cities of Germany. It is, moreover, one of the first 
places in Europe for banking business; and its transit business and 
book trade are both active and wide-spread. 

The circle of the Rhine is the last in this kingdom of Bavaria, 
and Spire (Augusta Nemetum; Speier) is its capital. It is pleasantly 
seated on the left bank of the Rhine, and, although unimportant in 
extent, is rich and interesting from its historical recollections and 
remote antiquity. Here were the winter quarters of Csesar; on this 
spot have Merovingian and Carlovingian kings and Saxon emperors 
frequently resided. The late King of Bavaria has caused the Cathe¬ 
dral to be restored; and the Hall of Antiquities, wherein are pre¬ 
served. the statues, altars, coins, and other objects of Roman origin, 
found within the circle, will, no doubt, be considered as possessing 
interest beyond the mere province of the antiquary. 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


Near the little town of Kaiserslauten, a place now supported by 
the various tanners, cotton-spinners, and miners, who find employ¬ 
ment therein, still rise the ruins of a magnificent castle built by Fre¬ 
derick Barbarossa. A pond, called the “ Kaiserwog,” was attached 
to it, but has been drained and converted into a meadow. Into this 
piece of water the Emperor cast a full-grown luce or pike in the year 
1230, having attached to it a ring with an inscription in Greek. 
This fish was caught by the Elector Philip in 1497, it being then 19 
feet long, weighing 350 pounds, and having passed no fewer than 
267 years in this quiet residence! 

We now enter the kingdom of Wurtemberg, which is placed 
almost entirely within the circle of Suabia, of which it possesses the 
lower part, the upper belonging to the circle of Franconia. This 
state is actually composed of the former duchy of Wurtemberg, with 
several imperial and other cities. It is divided into four circles, 
the Necker or Neckar, the Black Forest, the Jaut or Jagst, and the 
Danube. 

Stuttgart, on the Nesenbach, at a short distance from its con¬ 
fluence with the Necker, is the capital, a city placed in the midst of 
a charming hollow. Since the commencement of the present century 
Stuttgart has been greatly enlarged and embellished, most of its 
principal edifices being quite modern. Besides its chateaux, bar¬ 
racks, and various buildings devoted to educational and scientific 
purposes, it boasts a royal public library, one of the richest in Eu¬ 
rope, containing, it is conjectured, the most magnificent and numerous 
collection of Bibles in existence. The environs of this city are re¬ 
markably beautiful, and there are many points of interest at con¬ 
venient distances for a walk, ride, or drive. Among others we may 
mention a superb royal chateau built upon a mountain, whence a 
delicious view is obtained of the surrounding scenery. This palace, 
which contains a dining-hall and concert-room greatly admired, 
bears the not inappropriate name of “ The Solitude.” 

Although Stuttgart in the circle of the Necker is the capital of 
the kingdom, Ludwigsburg is the chief place of the circle itself. If 
is a pretty town, but offers little beyond its royal residence, military 
school, and arsenal, to recommend it to attention. 


GERMANIC CONFEDERATION. 


Passing over the circles of the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) and 
the Jart, we pause in the circle of the Danube, ere leaving the 
kingdom of Wurtemberg, to say a few words of Ulm. This place 



ULM. 


was once an imperial city, and is even now a considerable one on 
account of its trade. Its Cathedral is one of the finest temples in 
Germany, and it has an Hotel de Ville with a renowned clock. In 
the vicinity of Altorf in the same circle, rises the celebrated Abbey 
of Veingarten, now changed into an orphan asylum; the beautiful 
little church attached to the establishment boasts one of the largest 
organs known, having no fewer than 6666 pipes. 

The Grand Duchy of Baden is divided into four circles, viz,, 
Upper, Middle, and Lower Rhine, and another called the Lake. 
Carlsruhe, a modern and bustling city, is the chief place of the 
Middle Rhine and capital of the Duchy. It is regularly built in 
the shape of a fan; all the principal streets radiating from the Grand 
Ducal palace as from a centre. Fine buildings and important 
establishments attest the spirit which has of late years been at work 
in this part of Germany; but the newness of every object takes 
somewhat from the pleasure of the traveller in Carlsruhe, as he can 

KKKK 






















THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE, 

link no romantic associations with, the unscored walls. Some pretty 
walks and gardens lie in and about the city, which offer means of 
recreation to the inhabitants. 

The mineral waters of Baden, with the great landscape beauty 
of its environs, have attracted to that little place of late years, perhaps, 
more attention than to any other watering-place in Europe. It 
seems to have been well known to the Romans—that luxurious 
people who, like the monks in more recent times, had a good eye 
to the loveliness and convenience of the spots where they took up 
their residence. From the ruins in the neighbourhood of Baden, 
and the antiquities recovered from its soil and deposited in its 
museum, we learn that it was the Civitas Aurelia Aquensis of an¬ 
cient times; but at no period could it have displayed more gaiety, 
fashion, or luxury, than it presents at the present day in the height 
of the so-called season. 

Passing on to the circle of the Lower .Rhine we proceed to Man- 
heim, at the confluence of the Rhine with the Necker, once the 
residence of the Electors Palatine. It is the largest city in the state, 
and may be styled one of the handsomest in Germany, both on 
account of the good taste of its buildings and the regularity of its 
plan. The laying out the fortifications which surround the city 
into gardens and piomenades,—an improvement dating from the year 
1806,—has greatly contributed to increase its beauty. The Grand 
Ducal palace,—adorned with noble halls, galleries of sculpture and 
painting, museum, church, library, and pleasure-grounds,—is a 
remarkable edifice, but it is not the only one extolled by strangers. 
Manheim carries on an extensive trade, and possesses many com¬ 
mercial establishments. It was in this city that the celebrated 
German writer Kotzebue was assassinated by a student of Jena 
in 1819. 

In this same circle is the little town of Heidelberg, better known 
for its wine and a monstrous tun containing the precious liquor 
than for the institutions and edifices of the place itself; yet it 
.contains several highly important ones, and its university, with the 
library and other dependencies, are justly appreciated. It is in 
the cellars of an old ruinous chateau of the Electors, burnt in 1764, 
standing on the brow of the hill called the Geisberg, that the famous 


GERMANIC CONFEDERATION. 


tun is placed, the capacity of which is said to be no less than 
eight hundred hogsheads. 

In the circle of the Lake the city of Constance holds out nume¬ 
rous attractions to the wayfarer. Its antiquity, historical memories, 
situation, and trade, combine to make it interesting. It was founded 
by the Romans at the commencement of the fourth century, and 
in the middle ages had attained great renown. Here was held 
a famous council in 1414-15, when John Huss and Jerome of 
Prague were condemned to the flames, and the bones of Wickliffe, 
thirty years after his death, were disinterred and ordered to be 
burnt. To such wicked and ridiculous lengths does man’s zeal 
for what he falsely calls religion hurry him! 

Freiburg is the capital of the modern circle of the Upper Rhine, 
as it was anciently of the Brisgau. It has a cathedral with a spire, 
which is looked on as a masterpiece of architecture, while the 
interior displays some rare paintings by old German masters, and 
some glorious windows of richly-stained glass. 

We must not leave this division without a mention of Baden- 
weiler, which, although but a village, has attractions of a greater 
kind than many considerable towns; for our object is not so much 
to note down places important from their position and the number 
of their inhabitants, as to speak of those which may offer points 
of interest to our young readers. The village of Badenweiler, 
therefore, has procured its title to such distinction from the fact, 
that in the year 1784 a vast Roman bathing establishment was 
there rescued from oblivion. It was arranged for hot, cold, and 
vapour baths, and had halls or saloons for the convenience of the 
bathers. There were no fewer than fifty chambers and fifty-six 
ante-rooms, the walls of which were covered with highly-polished 
cement of a reddish hue. An altar-piece, still standing, tells us that 
these baths were dedicated to Diana Anoba. It appears that at 
no great distance from this establishment was a manufactory of 
pottery, from among whose ruins were recovered a quantity of 
coins and fragments of vases, many of which bore the potter’s name. 
The lofty mountain called the Blauen, a striking object, rises be¬ 
hind this interesting spot; it is one of the loftiest peaks of the 
romantic Black Forest. 


• > • 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


Omitting particular description of the States of the House of 
Hohenzollern and the principality of Lichtenstein, we reach the 
territory of the House of Hesse in its three unequal divisions of 
Electoral Hesse, the Grand Duchy of Hesse Darmstadt, and the 
Landgraviat of Hesse Hombourg, Electoral Hesse, or Hesse Cassel: 
it is divided into four provinces, and subdivided into twenty-two 
circles, and contains many spots of interest and beauty. Cassel 
is the chief town, and may be described as possessing, for its extent, 
more remarkable objects than, perhaps, any other city in Germany. 
Its places are particularly fine, and its parks and gardens are 
renowned. As a summer residence, perhaps, few spots are more 
charming than Wilhelmshoehe in the immediate neighbourhood. 
Its cascades, the colossal Hercules of Winterkasten, the fountain 
with its lofty jet of water, the Loewenburg, the Aqueduct, and the 
numerous charming views and peeps obtained from various points, 
make it truly a delicious retreat. 

Neither the province of Upper Hesse nor the Grand Duchy of 
Fulde need detain us on our way; but we must observe that the 
province of Hanau contains historical records of a remarkable kind. 
Near a place called Gelnhausen, not far from the Ivinzig, a little 
stream which empties itself into the main, are some ruins of a 
magnificent palace, built by Frederick Barbarossa. The spot 
chosen for this royal residence was one of singular beauty : an island 
of the Kinzig in the centre of Old Germany, surrounded by moun¬ 
tains, forests, gentle hills, and richly-variegated plains. A perfect 
mount of rocky material must have been used in the construction 
of this building, which contained within its huge block avails all 
the requisites of a palace and a foi tress. The whole country round 
is full of monuments and traditions of the time when the great 
monarch made the echoes repeat the animating cries of huntsmen 
and hounds when engaged in the favourite recreation of the chase. 

Our next halt is the Grand Duchy of Hesse Darmstadt, formed 
of the principalities of Starkenburg and Upper Hesse: the first 
divided into fourteen, and the latter into fifteen districts, and the 
province of Rhenish Hesse composed of eleven cantons. 

Darmstadt, the capital, rising from the banks of the Darm in 
the principality of Starkenburg, is, for the most part, an old, gloomy 


GERMANIC CONFEDERATION. 


city surrounded by an ancient wall: the new portion, which is daily 
embellishing and increasing, is, however, well built, and is distin¬ 
guished for its broad and cleanly streets. There are one or two 
edifices in this city deserving more than a mere passing mention. 
The new theatre, a splendid structure, and an immense hall, raised 
in 1771-2, for the purpose of exercising the garrison, and called 
the Exercierhaus, being both remarkable. This latter served as a 
model for the erection of a similar one at St. Petersburg; but it 
is now devoted to a different use to that for which it was originally 
intended, being at present a vast arsenal of artillery. Museums, 
as we have more than once observed, are rife all over the Continent; 
but the museum of Darmstadt, as beino; one of the richest in all 
Germany, merits attention : this is due to its collections of antiquities, 
engravings, objects of natural history, pictures, arms and armour. 
Oriental costumes, and, above all, to its plaster collection of all the 
finest monuments of antiquity, moulded on the originals once brought 
together at Paris. 

O 

An abiding interest attracts us to Mayence or Mentz, the chief 
place of Rhenish Hesse, once the capital of the Electorate of the 
same name. It is delightfully seated on the left bank of the Rhine 
at its confluence with the Maine, opposite the little town of Cassel 
already described. In Mayence may still be observed the Heim- 
brecht or Heinerhof, now the Hotel of the Three Kings, where it 
is asserted appeared, in 1457, the first complete printed book. This 
city is reputed by many to be the spot whence Guttenberg, who 
inhabited it, made known that art which was soon to spread itself 
over the known world: “ a discovery which,” to use the words of 
Professor Lehne, “ owed to Strasburg a cradle, and to Mayence 
its advancement;” for it must be borne in mind that the honour 
of this art, to which human society is indebted for so many advan¬ 
tages, is disputed by Haarlem, Strasburg, and Mayence, 

“ Where Guttenberg with toil incessant wrought, 

The imitative lines of written thought.” 

Worms, another city in the same province, at some little distance 
from the left bank of the Rhine, is one of the most ancient cities 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EURORE. 


m Germany. It was built by the Romans in the heart of the 
Wonnegau (Canton of Delights), and plays a great part in history. 
The Frankish kings and Charlemagne made it their summer 
residence; various diets of the empire were held here, and, among 
others, that wherein the abolition of private wars, the establishment 
of perpetual public peace, and the creation of a chamber of justice, 
were regularly decreed. In 1521 a diet was held, at which the 
celebrated Luther assisted in person, when he was declared an 
enemy to the Holy Roman empire. Worms is but a shadow of her 
former state, and we should have difficulty in believing, from her 
present aspect, the exalted position that she once could boast. The 
Cathedral is an imposing structure, commenced in the eighth century; 
connoisseurs greatly admire the south entrance, and bestow merited 
praise on the glazed rose in the middle of the western choir; in 
truth, it is considered as the model of the magnificent windows in 
the rose form, which owe their existence to the century following 
as they appear in ecclesiastical architecture. 

Omitting particular description of the Landgraviat of Hesse 
Hombourg, although interesting classic ground, we stay our steps 
in the Duchy of Nassau to visit the charming little city of Wies¬ 
baden, which has numerous attractions for the antiquary, the lover 
of nature, and the seeker after health; the waters being in very 
high repute. There is a fine building where they are taken, called 
the Kursaal, of vast size and adorned with pillars. Some large 
hotels built for the reception of visitors, who flock there by thou¬ 
sands in the season, give an important look to the place, which is, 
moreover, enriched with several literary establishments, library, 
museum, &c. The environs, particularly along the banks of the 
Rhine, are of the highest order of beauty, and what makes them of 
greater interest is, the finding at every turn vestiges of the period 
when the Romans and Germans disputed the possession of this 
lovely soil. Tumuli in large numbers, some of them containing 
monumental urns; others, spear-heads, arrows, bones, and even 
gold coins have been discovered for miles around; and M. Dorov, 
a learned antiquary, has gone so far as to infer, from the pure and 
elegant forms of certain urns he has dug up, that the country was 
at one period the residence of a civilised people from Asia. 


GERMANIC CONFEDERATION. 


In this same duchy are the village of Johannisberg, renowned 
for its rich vineyard and fine chateau, the property of Prince 
Metternich, and the little town of Ems, whose baths are well known. 

The principality of Waldeck with the county of Pyrmont offer 
nothing of sufficient remark to detain us by description ; nor do 
we find in the states of the House of Lippe, composed as it is of 
Detmold and Schauenburg, objects of remarkable interest. The 
states of the House of Brunswick have a claim to our attention, 
from the fact that, since the commencement of the eighteenth 
century, the family who governs them have given kings to the 
throne of England. Small as are the possessions of the Duchy of 
Brunswick, they do not even lie in contiguity with each other, 
being divided into three parts, inclosed within the Prussian province 
of Saxony and the southern part of the kingdom of Hanover. 

Brunswick (Braunschweig), the capital, on the Ocker, although 
a well-built and tolerably large city, has little to distinguish it 
beyond hundreds of other German towns. Like them it has its 
palaces, churches, and barracks; its colleges, public library, and 
museum, containing a collection of antiquities. In the latter there 
is a vase composed of a single onyx, on which vulgar opinion 
bestows a fabulous value, many rating it as worth thousands of' 
pounds; it is certainly a beautiful and rare curiosity. Brunswick 
produces a liqueur called mum , which was at one time in high 
vogue; and it is asserted that the first spinning-wheels ever made 
owe their origin to this city, having been invented here in 1530 
by a statuary named Jurgen. 

We now enter the kingdom of Hanover, up to the reign of 
Her Majesty Queen Victoria a dependency of the English crown, 
and now governed by the son of the late Duke of Cumberland. 
It is divided into six governments and one captainry, and is bounded 
on all sides by petty states, with the exception of one little spot to 
the north where it is washed by the German Ocean. Turning 
first to Hanover, as the chief city of the government of the same 
name and capital of the kingdom, we find it seated in a sandy plain 
at the confluence of the rivers Leina and Ihne. It has been greatly 
improved of late years by the construction of many handsome streets, 
and can boast of a large number of scientific and literary establish- 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROrE. 

ments, schools for the instruction of adults in a variety of useful 
arts having sprung up and become richly endowed. 

Goettingen, a town built at the foot of the Heimberg, on the right 
bank of the new Leina, although inferior in size to Hildesheim, the 
capital of the government so called, deserves particular remark as 
being fancifully, though not unjustly, styled “ one of the beacon 
lights of the civilised world.” This title is due to its numerous and 
excellent scholastic establishments, at the head of which must be 
placed its celebrated university with a magnificent library, re¬ 
garded as one of the richest in Europe for modern literature, and 
may be looked on as the most useful to the student on account of 
the liberal manner in which it is administered. A crowd of col¬ 
lections of various kinds also adorn this little town; the reading- 
room (Lesecabinet) possessing one of the six largest files of modern 
newspapers existing on the Continent. 

The government of Luneburg contains a chief city of the same 
name, remarkable for its trade in salt, having in its neighbourhood 
rich salt-springs, from which great supplies are obtained that furnish 
employment for the major part of its inhabitants. 

In the government of Stade is the little village of Lilienthal 
which is famous in the history of astronomy, from the fact of Doctor 
Harding having discovered the planet Juno from its celebrated 
observatory on the 1st of September, 1804. 

The government of Osnabriick or Osnaburg has little to excite 
attention; but in that of Aurich we find one or two places of note. 
Chief among these is Emden, on the Gulf of Dollart, a flourishing 
port, and the most commercial city in the kingdom. It gave birth 
to Backhuysen, the marine painter, who frequently exposed himself 
to the dangers of a tempest at sea to store his mind with the grand 
images of nature as visible on the waters. We must not omit to 
mention Papenburg, a little town placed in the midst of marshy 
ground which yields abundant turf, and remarkable for the large 
number of vessels yearly launched from her slips and dockyards. 
A navigable canal puts it in communication with the river Ems; 
and so actively does its mere handful of inhabitants devote themselves 
to commerce and navigation, that their ships are met with in almost 
every port of the North and Baltic Seas. 


GERMANIC CONFEDERATION. 


Clausthal, the chief place of the captainry of the same name, 
is a flourishing city, which owes its prosperity to its lead and silver 
mines, looked upon as the richest in the Hartz; that famous group 
of mountain and forest to which attach so many romantic legends. 
All mineralogists admire the magnificent hydraulic contrivances 
in the silver mine called the Dorothea. The city contains a mint 
and an important establishment termed “ The School of Mines and 
Forests.” There are several other towns and villages about this 
district, the whole of whose inhabitants are engaged in mining 
operations: one of them. Grand, at the western extremity of the 
Hartz, being particularly worthy of a visit from the immense 
subterranean works executed for this purpose. 

We now enter the Grand Duchy of Oldenburg, of which the 
chief city on the Hunte bears the same name. It has some hand¬ 
some edifices with an extensive park attached to the Ducal Chateau, 
and a rich collection of German antiquities and objects of art dis¬ 
covered in the country. 

Elsfleth is a little town on the left bank of the Weser and does 
a good deal of trade. At Brake, on the same river, there is a bridge 
at which the lamest vessels, not intended to mount the stream as 
far as Bremen, come to moorings. These places have derived greater 
importance of late years through the steam-boats, which have 
commenced running on the river. 

Eutin, in the principality of Lubeck, with a fine chateau and 
grounds, was for several years the residence of Stolberg, Voss, 
Bredow, and other celebrated men; and Oberstein on the Nahe, 
situated in the principality of Birkenfeld, manufactures and exports 
a large quantity of jewellery. 

There can be no stronger evidence of the multiplicity of interests 
which must be at work in this Confederation than the observing 
portions of territory no bigger than a wealthy gentleman’s estate 
in England, enjoying an independent position, and assuming at head¬ 
quarters all the ceremony of an imperial court. To the traveller 
in Germany nothing can be more annoying than the change of coins, 
the examination of luggage, and inspection of passports, which he 
falls in with at every turn; and, to the philosopher, there is some¬ 
thing ludicrous in the vain display and military pomp which are 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROPE. 


observable in every petty state, although his smile disappears when 
he ponders on the effect which such establishments must have on 
the well-being of the people. The lordship of Kniphausen, with its 
capital city fortified, and its hundred or so inhabitants, is a specimen, 
although the most diminutive, of some of the states of the Germanic 
Confederation. 

The republic of Bremen, formerly an imperial city of the circle 
of Lower Saxony, comprises only the city and territory of that name, 
and. is placed upon the Weser. Bremen is at the confluence of the 
Wlimine with the latter river, and is an industrious town. The 
Lutheran Cathedral possesses some vaults called Bleyheller , which 
have the singular property of preserving the dead bodies deposited 
therein from putrefaction. The subterranean capabilities of the 
Hotel de Yille are no less remarkable, but its cellars have a dif¬ 
ferent repute, boasting, as they do, the possession of the most 
esteemed wines from the banks of the Rhine, as regards both age and 
quality. 

Pass we on to the republic of Hamburg, with its flourishing com¬ 
mercial capital, which has made enormous strides of improvement 
since the fatal years of 1813-14. Dirty and narrow streets, houses 
of irregular build—picturesque, in truth, but very images of discom¬ 
fort— still lend a gloomy aspect to many parts of Hamburg, which 
is agreeably changed in the new portions for features of a directly 
opposite character. One or two churches deserve praise for their 
beauty and majestic height. St. Michael’s is very grand, and that 
of St. Nicholas contains one of the great organs of Europe. The 
suburbs wear almost an English character from their neatness and 
beauty, particularly the one known as the Hamburgerberg, which 
is no less happy from its delightful position than from the handsome 
houses which adorn it, and the crowds of people it attracts on days of 
festival. 

Continuing our route, we discover the scattered fragments form¬ 
ing the republic of Lubeck, being curiously inclosed and divided by 
portions of the principality of Oldenburgli, the Duchy of Holstein, 
and the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg. The city of Lubeck has a 
vast cathedral, a celebrated Hotel de Yille, an arsenal, an exchange, 
and other large establishments. Thanks to a favourable position, the 


GERMANIC CONFEDERATION. 


commerce of this place is of an extensive character; its close con¬ 
nexion with the cities of Bremen and Hamburg is all that now 
remains, however, of the famous Hanseatic League, which, established 
in the thirteenth century for mutual defence and trade, became one 
of the dominant powers of the middle ages. Lubeck was the capital 
of this remarkable union, and still preserves the archives of its 
transactions. 

The states of the sovereign house of Mecklenburg, one of the 
most ancient in Europe, is divided into two principal Grand Ducal 
branches, Mecklenburg Schwerin and Mecklenburg Strelitz. The 
former is much the larger, and contains the duchies of Schwerin and 
Gustrow, with the lordships of Rostock and Wismar. 

Schwerin, on the lake of that name, is a pretty little town, busy 
and industrious, and is the capital of the Grand Duchy. The chateau, 
a vast building, is the principal, and at the same time the most pic¬ 
turesque object it contains, being placed on an islet of the lake, 
adorned with gardens, which bridges connect with the city. In the 
same circle (Mecklenburg) we find Ludwigsburg, which, although 
seated in a sandy and generally uninteresting country, is the chief 
residence of the sovereign. It possesses a rich collection of the 
antiquities of the old Slavonians, the former inhabitants of Mecklen¬ 
burg. A great part of these singular relics belonged to the famous 
Temple of Rhetra, and have been learnedly illustrated by Messieurs 
Masch and Wogen. Rostock, on the Warnow, is the largest and 
most populous place in the whole state, and is in the enjoyment of 
extensive privileges. The veteran Bliicher was born here in 1742, 
and on a Place bearing his name has been erected a bronze statue to 
his memory. 

There is little in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg Strelitz to 
require minute description. Its chief town, called New Strelitz, is, 
however, a pretty object viewed from almost every point, being built 
in the form of a star, with eight rays, upon the Lakes Zirk and 
Glannbek. 

The possessions of the house of Saxony have higher claims to 
notice. This sovereign house is divided into two branches: the 
ducal or Ernestine, the elder, although it is of less extent; and the 
royal or Albertine, so called from the name of the prince, its 


THE RICHMONDS* TOUR THROUGH EURORE. 


founder. This latter contains the kingdom of Saxony; the former, 
since the extinction of the Saxe-Gotha portion, possesses four branches, 
namely, the Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar, and the three Duchies 
of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Saxe-Meiningen, and Saxe-Altenburg. The 
territory composing the Duchy of Gotha, on the extinction of the 
branch of that name in 1825, was divided among the three duchies 
just mentioned. 

The kingdom of Saxony contains many places of interest. Since 
the last cessions it has been portioned out into five circles, sub¬ 
divided in an irregular manner into districts, the very title of which, 
AmtsliauptmannscTiaftlichen Bezirke, is imposing! 

Dresden,—beautiful Dresden, styled the Florence of Germany,— 
is the chief place of the circle of Misnie and the capital of the kingdom. 
It rises from the banks of the Elbe where the waters of the Weis- 
seritz unite with that river, and is, indeed, in a delicious situation, 
surrounded by a fertile country. Broad streets, clean and well laid 
out—fine avenues, more or less shaded, leading off from them— 
houses well built, and a crowd of edifices remarkable both from their 
architecture and their extent, render Dresden more than ordinarily 
worthy of admiration. The eye of the traveller singles out from 
among its eighteen churches the new Catholic temple, with a very 
lofty tower; that of Notre Dame, built on the model of St. Peter’s at 
Rome, surmounted by a spacious cupola; and that of the Holy Cross, 
an enormous stone pile, whose high pinnacle soars grandly above the 
city. Several noble and spacious buildings belong to the royal 
family; the one generally inhabited by the king has an exterior 
which neither responds to its extent nor to the richness of its apart¬ 
ments ; it is capped, however, with a high tower, which gives it a 
picturesque appearance. A host of buildings devoted to the purposes 
of art, science, and literature, are scattered over the city, whose very 
names would fill a page, but, omitting these, we must not fail to 
remember, that the public library in the Augusteum, or Japanese 
Palace, is one of the richest on the Continent; that under the same 
roof are preserved superb specimens of porcelain, medals, and anti¬ 
quities; that the king’s palace contains remarkable collections of 
rarities and objects of art, above all, of precious stones; and that 
Dresden boasts one of the largest and most valuable galleries of pic- 


GERMANIC CONFEDERATION* 


tures in the world. But this city is no less worthy of a visit from 
the numerous branches of industry which are carried on there. Its 
cloths, its porcelain, straw-hats, jewellery, musical instruments, lace, 
&c., are renowned; and the increased capital which has of late years 
been expended on the developement of its commerce, together with 
the number of strangers who annually flock there, have contributed 
in no small degree to enhance its prosperity. The environs of 
Dresden, also, are attractive to all who are fond of picturesque 
scenery, and a radius of thirty miles would bring within the view a 
number of towns and villages, each of which would offer something 
to study or admire. 

Leipsic, the capital of the circle of the same name, has equal 
claims to notice with Dresden, although of a somewhat different kind. 
In a situation scarcely less beautiful than the capital city, being built 
on the Elster, Pleisse, and Parde, it vaunts with natural pride the 
possession of one of the most celebrated universities in the world, as 
well as one of the most flourishing in Germany, enriched with library, 
botanical garden, anatomical theatre, philological seminary, a museum 
of natural history, and other establishments. Besides the tone which 
the possession of so important an institution confers upon Leipsic, it 
is the most bustling and commercial place in the kingdom, and takes 
a high rank among the trading cities of Europe. The three fairs, 
which are held there on New Year’s day, at Michaelmas, and Easter, 
but particularly at the latter epoch, are esteemed the richest of the 
Continent. It may be observed, likewise, that nowhere, with the 
exception of London and Paris, are such important transactions in 
the book-trade carried on as in this city. Leipsic is surrounded with 
charming gardens, among which must be mentioned that of Gerhard, 
formerlv Beichenbach, and that of Reichel: the latter contains a 
large establishment of artificial mineral waters. Our young readers 
must bear in mind, that it was in the environs of this city, on the 
16th, 17th, and 18th of October, 1813, that the memorable battle 
was fought called <e the battle of the nations,” when the combined 
armies of Austria, Prussia, and Russia, gained a complete victory 
over Napoleon Bonaparte, the event of which was to change the face 
of Europe. At Probstheida, a little village, the centre of the fight 


THE RICHMONDS’ TOUR THROUGH EUROTE. 

may be seen a colossal cross, raised for the purpose of transmitting to 
posterity the memory of this great action. 

Ereyberg is the capital of the circle of Erzbirge, a busy place on 
the Mulde. It is quite a mining town, as it has silver mines in its 
immediate vicinity, has a celebrated mining academy, adorned with a 
Valuable collection of models bearing on the miners’ art, besides a 
superior school for miners. These establishments are well known to 
the mineralogists of Europe; many men of eminence in this depart¬ 
ment, from various nations having received their education within 
their walls. 

Passing over the circles of Voigtland, with its chief town Plauen, 
and Lusace with Bautzan for its capital, we enter Ducal Saxony, and 
at once proceed to Weimar on the Ilm, the principal city of the 
Grand Duchy of Saxe-Weimar. 

Weimar is seated in a pretty valley, and although less favoured 
on the score of imposing edifices than many of the places we have 
spoken of, it makes a fine show from the beauty of its position. The 
Chateau is a fine building, with some magnificent suites of rooms, and 
contains, moreover, a staircase which is looked upon as a master-piece, 
and a theatre constructed in 1825 through the influence of the 
famous Goethe. The science of geography is in especial favour at 
Weimar, the city boasting a geographical institution founded by 
Bertuch. This fine establishment has materially contributed to the 
advancement of that branch of science, both by learned analyses, and 
a large number of useful publications, at a sufficiently moderate price 
to meet the means of the great mass of the population. The names 
of two German worthies are connected with Weimar. Kotzebue was 
born there, in 1761, and Wieland, the poet, breathed his last in that 
city at the beginning of 1813. 

The Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, whence his royal Highness 
Prince Albert, the amiable consort of her gracious Majesty, derives 
his origin, has been composed since the year 1826 of the principalities 
of Gotha and Coburg; the city of Gotha being the capital of the 
entire Duchy. This bustling and commercial town stands near the 
river Seine, and has a pleasing aspect from its neatness and the 
beauty of its situation. The Ducal chateau is a very fine building, 


GERMANIC CONFEDERATION 


and lias a noble terrace wliicli many compare to that of Windso* 
Castle. The Museum is esteemed one of the richest in Europe, from 
its variety and completeness; it contains a number of cabinets, col¬ 
lections, and galleries, and possesses a handsome library. The cabi¬ 
net of medals is particularly fine; and what adds to the value of this 
department are a valuable numismatic library, and drawings of coins 
and medals. Amid other curious matters proper to this interesting 
city, must be mentioned the collection of petrifactions amassed by 
the Baron de Schlotheim, which is well worthy of study : nor must 
we pass unnoticed the publication of the Almanack of Gotha, com¬ 
piled and printed there since the year 1764,— a work, which, by the 
choice of its articles and the celebrity of its editors, must be placed 
among the most useful and remarkable productions of its kind. 



Coburg is the chief place of the second principality mentioned, 
and is a pretty commercial city on the Itz. 

There are several industrious towns in the Duchy of Saxe- 
Altenburg, but none of sufficient importance to detain us with 
description. The Ducal residence at Altenburg, the capital, and 
a fine college for young ladies, are among its celebrities. 

The Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen-Hildburghausen contains Mein- 
ingen, the chief city, on the Werra, with a chateau well supplied with 






































































the Richmonds’ tour through Europe. 


the appliances of science and art, and Hildburgliausen on the same 
river. This latter place was the residence of the Dukes of Saxe- 
Hildbumhausen before the extinction of the branch of Gotha. 

The possessions of the houses of Schwarzburg, Reuss, and An • 
halt, although of inconsiderable extent, offer many places of interest 
sufficient to entitle them to the attention of travellers, while they 
possess few features of prominence enough to secure interest in a 
description. Indeed, the same may be remarked of most of the 
towns which we have endeavoured to note down for the entertain¬ 
ment and instruction of our young readers. For splendid as many of 
the edifices may be, and grand as they may appear to the beholder, 
little new or striking can be said in a description of them when so 
many with equal claims to notice have to be passed in review. 
Those who have had sufficient patience to follow us thus far on our 
tour through Germany, must have perceived the vast number of 
establishments devoted to the pursuits of literature and science 
existing in every petty town. In this respect, in truth, the cities of 
Germany deserve especial praise; education is conveyed in an infi¬ 
nity of ways, and by most ample means; and whatever unfavourable 
opinion we may form of German governments in some respects, we 
can but laud their liberality and their fostering care in all matters 
concerning the instruction and enlightenment of their subjects. 
















